The Potter Twins and the Goblet of Fire
by GryffindorGirl347
Summary: Harry and Emily Potter go to Hogwarts for their fourth year to be thrown into something that they weren't prepared for. Sequel. Cover image by emilie012 on Tumblr.
1. Muggles and Letters

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

**Chapter 1**

That morning, in the smallest bedroom on number 4 Privet Drive, I sat up with a start, my scar burning severely. I looked around the room frantically, my heart racing, before I realized that I had just been dreaming again. I should have known that already, after all, I've had the same dream all summer. I glanced over to the opposite side of the room and saw my brother laying there in his sleep, tossing and turning and sweating as I had been moments before. As usual, we had been having the same dream.

Since the summer had begun, we consistently had the same dream just about every night. It always involved an old man that was walking up the stairs where he met three other people. I recognized only one of them - Peter Pettigrew. The other one I assumed to just be another follower of Voldemort, and the final person I had yet to actually see. I only saw a glimpse of this man, who appeared to be more like a creature, each time this dream occurred. The blinding flash of green always blocked him from view and afterwards I would always wake up.

This morning, I woke up because I already knew what was coming just before it happened. I heard the creature's voice and that was frightening enough. When I stood up out of bed suddenly, I heard a loud squawk coming from Hoot - I had scared him. Looking at him gave me a thought though.

Should I tell someone about this? Maybe this dreams meant something...after all, both Harry and I have been having them for a good while now. Who could I tell though? My first thought went to Sirius, but I knew that he had enough to deal with already with being on the run. Maybe I could tell Dumbledore...no, he has a lot to deal with too. I know that he is involved with the Ministry somehow...There was no way I would tell any of my friends, they would just freak out and tell me all kinds of crazy things.

I got this crazy thought in my head on who I could tell, but would he even read it? I'm sure he would, after all, he had always listened to my rambling in the past. Yes, I would write to him - it couldn't hurt, could it?

_Dear Severus,_

_I'm really sorry to bother you, but you're really the only one that I feel could actually help me in this situation. Harry and I have both been having the same dream for a while and I was wondering if it could possibly mean anything. It always involves the same people - I only recognized the one as Peter Pettigrew - and I think that one of them might be Voldemort. I know that it sounds crazy, but both of our scars started to burn when we had these dreams and the only time that has happened before was when Voldemort was was in the area - you know, with Quirrell in our first year and that diary in our second year. Do you think all of this could mean anything or is it just another dream?_

_Love,_

_Emily_

I finished up my letter and sealed it into an envelope. Hoot scurried over to me, happy to be able to get out of the house and before long, he was out in the skies.

Suddenly, as I was looking out of the window, Harry shot up and looked around the room in a hurry. It was obvious by the look on his face that he just had the same dream that I had only moments before.

"I really thought it was real that time..." he said quietly.

"I always think that it's real," I said knowingly.

"Maybe...maybe we should tell someone," Harry said.

I started to say that I had already sent a letter out, but I held my tongue. Harry and Snape had never gotten along and he would probably get angry that I had confided in a person that he has loathed for the past three years at Hogwarts.

"I'm going to write to Sirius," Harry said suddenly.

I sat quietly while Harry wrote the letter and I secretly wondered what he would really say if he knew that I had written to Snape. Absentmindedly, I grabbed some of the letters that were laying on my night stand and started to go through some.

I had gotten so many from Ron and Hermione about the Quidditch World Cup that was coming up and I was constantly reminded that my summer with the Dursleys was going to be over soon. I had also gotten a fair share of letters from Sirius, none of which carried any information on his whereabouts in case the letter was intercepted. I had a couple letters from George too, all of them talking about their new line of sales - Skiving Snackboxes. I had helped to come up with some of the products that were in these boxes, but I insisted that my name should not be added to the product. It didn't really matter to me. I still was extraordinarily confused as to whether or not George and I were officially dating. I know that we kissed a couple of times in the past year, but he never really brought anything like that up in his letters before. I guess that I would figure that out when I saw him next.

I also received letters from Fred, Neville, Ginny, and even Draco Malfoy - all of which were wishing me a happy birthday. I had gotten several cards from so many other people and I still won't forget how angry Uncle Vernon had gotten when all of these owls were flying into our house. It was the first birthday in a while that the Dursleys had actually recognized because they wanted to know what all the owls were doing here - well, he actually demanded it while he yelled and swatted at the owls.

While I scanned through all the letters and birthday cards, I secretly wondered how far Hoot had gotten with my letter to Snape. I wasn't really sure where he even lived, but I knew that it was probably a good distance away. Snape had never really mentioned anything about me being allowed to write to him, but I couldn't really see him getting to angry about it. We had always gotten along and I know that he cared about me almost like a father would care about his daughter. I guess that we had always had that kind of relationship, but I never tried to contact him outside of the school. Maybe it was just because I hadn't ever thought of it before.

Then there was a sudden movement on the other side of the room and I noticed that Harry had finished writing up his letter. He exited the room to where I assumed to either be the bathroom or downstairs where breakfast was going to be held momentarily. I took this opportunity to grab some clothes and get dressed. Once I had my Muggle clothes on - which were actually mine and not one of Aunt Petunia's usual hand-me-downs that I've had to wear in the past (they finally decided that both Harry and I needed clothes of our own because the neighbors were noticing our existence).

Once I was ready, I walked slowly down to the kitchen where I found Aunt Petunia serving breakfast. She was cutting up grapefruit quarters for all of us to eat - we were all being forced on a diet because Dudley's school insisted that he go on one. Not long after I sat down, Harry joined us. When we were finished with our breakfast, Uncle Vernon grabbed both of us and practically threw us into the sitting room towards some of the chairs.

"I need to talk to you two," he said through gritted teeth.

"What did we do this time?" I rolled my eyes.

"Don't get smart with me!" he snapped.

"I'll try to use smaller words next time…" I said under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing at all," I smiled innocently. "Please continue."

Uncle Vernon reached into his coat pocket where he pulled out an envelope that had already been opened. The envelope was covered completely in all different sorts of stamps - you couldn't even see the paper that it was sticking to. There was no doubt in my mind on who this had come from.

"This came in the mail for the two of you," he said through gritted teeth.

Harry and I looked at each other, both amused at the anger and frustration that our uncle was in because of the letter. That and the amusement that the Weasleys obviously didn't understand the use of the stamp.

"_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, _

_We have never been introduced, but I am sure you have heard a great deal from both Harry and Emily about my son Ron._

_As Harry and Emily might have told you, the final of the Quidditch World Cup takes place this Monday night, and my husband, Arthur, has just managed to get prime tickets through his connections at the Department of Magical Games and Sports. I do hope you will allow us to take them both to the match, as this really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; Britain hasn't hosted the cup for thirty years, and tickets are extremely hard to come by. We would of course be glad to have them stay for the remainder of the summer holidays, and to see him safely onto the train back to school. _

_It would be best for Harry or Emily to send us your answer as quickly as possible in the normal way, because the Muggle postman has never delivered to our house, and I am not sure he even knows where it is. _

_Hoping to see Harry and Emily soon, Yours sincerely, _

_Molly Weasley _

_P.S. I do hope we've put enough stamps on."_

Uncle Vernon glared at us angrily, as if blaming the entire situation on us. Harry and I were forced to hold back our laughter at Mrs. Weasley's sorry attempt at sending a letter the Muggle way. Uncle Vernon was practically fuming, so we held back as much as we could.

"So…can we go or not?" Harry asked.

"Who is this woman anyway?" Uncle Vernon asked.

"You've met her," Harry said. "She was at the Hog-"

"_School_ train," I quickly cut in to make sure that Harry didn't say the word _Hogwarts_ in front of Uncle Vernon.

"She's that woman with that load of children," Uncle Vernon said as if he was accusing someone of a crime. "The whole lot of them were a bunch of gingers-"

"Watch yourself," I said pointing to my hair.

Uncle Vernon shot a look at me and Harry looked as though he was going to bust out laughing at any second. However, we both waited patiently to hear his answer as he stared at the letter further.

"Quidditch?" he asked. "What is that?"

"It's a sport," Harry said. "We play it on flying-"

"It's a bit like football," I cut in as I glared at Harry for almost talking about magic again. "Except for…our type of people."

Uncle Vernon nodded slowly and set the letter down next to us and just looked at each of us individually. You could have heard a pin drop in the room.

"Fine," Uncle Vernon snarled. "Go, I don't care. As long as you both stay there until next summer."

"Don't you worry about that," Harry said quietly.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! I know that it wasn't that much, but I figured that it was a good enough start to the story. I would have made it longer, but I have a lot of final exams and midterms coming up in school that I have to deal with at the moment, so I hope that you understand. I'll try and make the next chapter better than this one. Please leave a comment and don't forget to VOTE ON THE POLL if you haven't already - I'm keeping it up until I actually write the chapter about the Triwizard Tournament, so get a move on and VOTE!<strong>

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Off to the Weasleys

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 2**

The next morning I woke up at the crack of dawn. For the first time in a while, I actually had a dreamless sleep and woke up happier than I had all summer break - we were leaving the Dursleys for the summer! I couldn't wait for the Weasleys to get there, but I was almost worried about what the Dursleys were going to say to them. They could be really rude…well, they normally were that way.

Right when we jumped out of our beds, we ran around the room and packed all of our stuff into the trunks that we carried to school. It didn't take very long considering the fact that we didn't have all that many possessions at the house. Before long, both Harry and I were sitting in the living room waiting impatiently for the Weasleys to get there. We had to wait a long time because they weren't expected to be there until five o' clock that evening. By the time that hour rolled around, we were all standing or sitting in the living room waiting for them to arrive.

"They're late," Uncle Vernon complained as he looked out the window for the millionth time. "I should have expected this from _your_ kind."

"It's a good thing that we don't take that to offense…" I muttered.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR SMART MOUTHING GIRL!" Uncle Vernon yelled, his face going purple. "ONE MORE WORD AND I'LL-"

He didn't get to finish his threat though, he had been cut off when a loud, banging sound erupted from the fireplace. This particular fireplace had been boarded up a long time ago when they had an electric one placed in front of it.

"OW!" a voice yelled from the other side of the boards with a loud, thumping noise.

"Daddy - WHAT IS IT?" Dudley yelled as he hid behind his terrified mother.

The Dursleys all ran to the opposite end of the room as both Harry and I walked towards the fireplace to see what was going on. I had the faintest idea that the Weasleys had attempted to get here via Floo Powder. I didn't know that the Muggle's fireplaces were connected too…

"OUCH!" another familiar voice came from the fireplace. "George, you stepped on my foot!"

"Well maybe if you would move - OW!" George's voice yelled. "You elbowed me in the rib!"

"There isn't enough room in here," Fred said. "What is going on?"

I stepped closer towards the fireplace and knocked on it as if it was a door of its own. I wasn't really sure what possessed me to do that, but I did anyway.

"Fred? George?" I asked as everyone went silent.

"Is that Emily?" Fred asked.

"Emily!" George called. "What is going on?"

There was another few bang noises and more voices filled up the area behind the fireplace. I had no doubt in my mind that most of the Weasley family had attempted to get through and now they were all stuck. From where I was standing, I could tell that Ron, Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George had all gotten through. Hopefully no one else would be coming to visit.

"What is going on?" Uncle Vernon demanded.

Harry and I ignored him as we tried to talk to the Weasleys and explain what was going on.

"Mr. Weasley?" Harry called. "The fireplace has been boarded up; you're not going to be able to make it through there!"

"Damn…" Mr. Weasley said. "I think that I can get us all through - would you all mind backing up?"

Harry and I didn't hesitate to back as far as we could away from the fireplace. The Dursleys looked like they were about to say something, but they didn't get a chance to when there was a large explosion that came from the fireplace. Once all of the dust settled, four of the Weasleys stepped out from the fireplace and looked around the living room - the Dursleys looked horrified.

"Sorry about that," Mr. Weasley said. "So - Harry, Emily - where are your trunks? Are you both packed?"

"Yeah, we packed earlier - they're in our room," I said.

"We'll get them," Fred said while nudging his twin brother in the side.

Once they had run up the steps towards our room, Mr. Weasley tried to start a conversation by talking about some of the common things that Muggles use like batteries and plugs. It was rather funny to see the look on my aunt and uncle's faces when Mr. Weasley started talking about how fascinating he found people like them. It took a lot to keep myself from laughing.

"So…" Mr. Weasley said looking at the Dursleys again. "I don't believe that I know your names."

This still didn't tempt them to speak to him though, they just stood there staring at him as though he was mad or something. I suppose that he was a little mad though.

"This is Uncle Vernon," I said pointing to him. "That's our Aunt Petunia and that is our cousin Dudley…"

"Nice to meet you all," Mr. Weasley smiled.

Beside his father, Ron looked as though he wanted to burst out laughing himself. I couldn't half blame him if he did. It was ridiculous how terrified they were of what they considered "our kind." I would never forget this moment.

Finally after a few more moments of that awkward silence, Fred and George came running down the steps with both of our trunks in hand. When they got into the room, they set the trunks next to themselves and looked around for a moment. When they spotted Dudley, the walked casually over to me. Everyone else was getting ready to go through the Floo Network to the Burrow.

"Is that your cousin?" Fred asked quietly.

"Yes it is," I smiled up to him.

The twins looked at each other with a familiar, mischievous grin and then they looked back to me. I knew that look - they were going to do something. Fred pulled something out of his pocket that looked like an average piece of candy, but being good friends with them taught me something - never trust anything that they give to you. George had told me about one of the treats in particular and I knew that it would work with Dudley.

"Use the Ton-Tongue Toffee…" I whispered as I walked passed them.

"Excellent," George whispered behind me.

Ron had already gone through towards his house and Harry stepped up next. Just before he threw the powder into the fireplace, Mr. Weasley stopped him. I looked back at him and noticed Fred drop a piece of candy onto the floor. Dudley was eyeing it carefully.

"Aren't you going to say good-bye to your niece and nephew?" Mr. Weasley asked. "You're not going to see them until next summer."

"It really doesn't matter," I said shrugging off their silence and grabbing some Floo Powder and throwing it into the fireplace.

"The Burrow!" I shouted and jumped into the fireplace.

I guess that it was rather rude of me to do, but I honestly had no interest in saying anything to the Dursleys. They did house me for most of my life, but that's all they've done for Harry and me. They never have really cared about us and I was perfectly okay with that. It had always been like that and it always would be. Suddenly, I spun around for the final time before I landed flat on my face in what I knew to be the Weasley's home.

"Hey, I thought Harry was after me," Ron said as he ran over to help me up.

"He was, but your father insisted that we give the Dursleys a proper goodbye," I said wiping of some dust from my jeans. "So I jumped in front of him and left."

"Nice," Ron laughed. "You know he's going to mad at you though."

"I wouldn't doubt it," I said. "But I don't have anything to say to them."

Suddenly another person came through the fireplace and it wasn't Harry and it was actually Fred. He stepped through the fireplace with a look of triumph.

"It worked, didn't it?" I asked with a smile.

"Of course it did," he smiled back at me. "I don't think that your cousin is going to think about cheating on his diet for a good while after that one."

Soon enough everyone had gotten through to the Burrow. Once Mr. Weasley had made it back, he went into full lecture mode on Fred and George about what he had done to Dudley. We insisted that our cousin definitely deserved it, but he was still just as angry.

"You two just wait until I tell your mother about this-" he started.

"Tell me what?" Mrs. Weasley came over towards us.

"Um - well, you see - the thing is…" Mr. Weasley started nervously.

"Is this about Weasley Wizard Wheezes _again_?" she asked angrily.

Then I caught the eyes of two other people that were coming out of another room. It was Hermione and Ginny who just walked into the room awkwardly looking at Mrs. Weasley who was glaring at her twin sons.

"Oh, hey," Hermione smiled. "I didn't hear the two of you come in. Ron - maybe we should show them where they are going to be sleeping."

Catching onto the hint quickly, we all started to exit the room.

"I think I'll go join them-" George started, but was yanked back by his angry mother.

It wasn't long before we were in Ron's room where Harry was going to be staying. As I expected, I was to share a room with Hermione and Ginny for my stay here.

"What is Weasley Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked.

Ginny looked at him and then over to me with a raised eyebrow.

"I would have thought you would know about it considering Emily played a pretty big part in it," Ginny said to Harry.

Harry looked over at me curiously. I guess that I never really mentioned that I had been helping Fred and George come up with all kinds of different pranks over the summer. I just didn't really think that it was that big of a deal that I had helped them - I didn't really do _that_ much.

"They did most of it," I said. "They just asked for my help with a couple of things - that's all."

"That's not what George told me," Ginny accused. "He said that you helped them create just about every one of the products."

"Well, that's George," I said. "He's just saying that because…I don't know - it's not true. I hardly did anything."

Ginny explained everything that had been going on with Fred and George and their pranks that they had come up with while I went to go put my stuff into Ginny's room for my stay here. When I got down into the living room I noticed that Mrs. Weasley was yelling at both Fred and George for being immature.

"This has to stop _NOW_!" she yelled. "It has gone on long enough - what those poor Muggles must have thought!"

When she noticed me walk into the room, she only paused for a moment and continued to yell at her sons. I could tell by the looks on their faces that they really weren't listening to anything that she was saying and there was no way that this was going to stop them.

I grabbed a hold of my trunk and started to walk out of the room when I noticed that George had been staring at me. I smiled at him and he gave me a quick wink before turning back to his mother and her yelling. I walked up into Ginny's room, unpacking everything, and my mind was fully on George. What did he think our relationship was? Were we actually in a relationship or not?

Suddenly I heard a noise coming from the outside window that distracted me from my thoughts. Flying outside of the window was Hoot with a letter hanging from his feet. I walked over and let him inside of the room where I gave him a treat from my bag and took the letter. On the outside it read _Emily Potter_ in very neat handwriting. I quickly tore it open and read.

_Dear Emily,_

_Having dreams about the Dark Lord could never really be a pleasant thing, especially for someone like you. I am not exactly a person that can read dreams very easily, but if both you and Harry are having the same dream on countless occasions then there is no way that this could be a good sign. I have informed Dumbledore of this and I would strongly advise you or Harry to send a letter to either one of us if these dreams continue. Don't let this sort of thing bother you though Emily, it could just be that you are both having a lot on your mind about the Dark Lord that could have lead to these dreams, so don't let it bother you and try your best to enjoy the rest of your holiday._

_I was also informed that you are not at your usual residence with your aunt and uncle. Dumbledore informed me that Arthur Weasley bought tickets for you and your brother so that you two may attend the Quidditch World Cup this year. I hope that you enjoy your time there, but please don't get yourselves into any kind of trouble - I know how the two of you always end up in some kind of predicament and I don't want to have to come looking for you. So keep safe and enjoy yourselves._

_Hope your holidays are going well,_

_Love,_

_Severus_

_P.S. Don't feel that you are "bothering" me by writing me letters._

_P.P.S. When did you start calling me by my first name?_

I laughed at the last part of the letter because I didn't really realize that I had started doing that, but now that I thought about it I had done this several times before. I pulled a piece of parchment and a quill out of my trunk and began to write a reply.

_Dear SEVERUS,_

_If I keep having these dreams, I will definitely write to you about them - don't worry. I haven't been having them every night, but we've had them enough that it just got my curiosity up about whether or not they actually meant anything. Don't worry, I'll definitely be enjoying my break now that I'm away from the Dursleys. They were a nightmare this summer. _

_Yes, Mr. Weasley did get us tickets for the Quidditch World Cup - how did you know about that? We're going to be going before too long and I actually can't wait to see it. I've never actually been to a professional Quidditch team and I think that it will be interesting to see how differently they play in comparison to the games that are held at the school. Have you ever been to one before? (Just wondering!)_

_Seriously, you are like a mother hen - we aren't going to get in any trouble - we're just going to see a Quidditch game! The worst that could happen could be if Fred and George made someone angry with some prank and it'll be them that pay the price. Don't worry though, I'll make sure that we are on our best behavior and we'll "keep safe."_

_Hope to see you soon,_

_Love,_

_Emily_

_P.S. You call me by my first name, so get over it!_

I put the letter inside of an envelope and wrote _Severus Snape_ on the outside of it. Within a second, Hoot was out of the window again and flying towards Snape's house.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! Just so you know, I changed the poll results to the 'Blind Poll' thing so you all won't know who won in the end. I ask that you all <strong>_**please**_** do not get angry with what the results turn out to be because I honestly am going by what the poll says, so please don't be mad with the final results! Again, thank you for reading, please VOTE and REVIEW!**


	3. Why Are We Looking for a Boot?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 3**

"Who are you sending a letter to?"

I spun around and saw Hermione standing in the doorframe looking through the window at Hoot who was a good distance away now.

"No one," I answered a little too quickly.

"You really expect me to believe that?" Hermione laughed.

I wouldn't look her in the eye and continued to grab some things out of my trunk to finish unpacking. She didn't drop the subject though.

"Why won't you tell me?" she asked. "Is it some…secret romance or something?"

"No," I laughed. "It's nothing like that."

"Then why can't I know?"

"Because it isn't your business!" I said loudly.

Hermione pursed her lips and looked out the window again as I picked out the last of my luggage and put it in its proper place. I set Hoot's cage beside the window and turned to see that Hermione was still giving me that this-conversation-isn't-over-and-I-will-find-out-what-you-aren't-telling-me look. I ignored her though and decided that I would go downstairs to see if Mrs. Weasley needed help with anything. When I got down to the kitchen where I found her, I could tell that she was still angry. She was angrily tossing things throughout the kitchen with her wand in preparation for dinner and she was even angry enough to be whispering things to herself.

"Honestly, I'm going to kill them…" she mumbled, not realizing that I was there. "No future…don't care about anything…dumb inventions…mad, the two of them, simply mad…Oh! Hello dear, I didn't know that you were there!"

"That's fine," I said. "I just came down to see if you needed any help."

"Not at the moment dear," she smiled. "The only thing I really need help with is Fred and George. They are getting out of hand with all of this Weasley Wizard Wheezes business."

Another pot flew around the room and landed on the stove where Mrs. Weasley proceeded to put all different sorts of vegetables inside of.

"They actually are pretty clever," I said thoughtfully, earning a look from Mrs. Weasley. "I mean, if you think of how much magic is needed to be put into these objects. It actually takes a fair bit of knowledge."

"Well…I guess so," she sighed. "I am just concerned about their future. They are being quite reckless and it worries me."

"I'm sure that they'll be fine," I smiled. "They are reckless, but they aren't unintelligent. I have no doubt that they are going to be very successful in their career."

Mrs. Weasley smiled over at me and even looked a bit touched that I would say that about her sons. I knew that she was against the idea of their pranking habits, but she still loved them as much as anything. She was just a worried mother, that's all.

"No wonder George cares about you so much…" she sighed.

Did that mean that George talked about me to his mother? I wonder how often he mentioned me. What did he refer to me as? His girlfriend - or just a friend that he happened to have kissed a couple of times? I wanted to ask her, but I knew that she wouldn't want to tell me if he just considered me a friend. Mrs. Weasley was too nice.

I nodded slowly and started to walk out into another room where I found Harry and Ron talking to a couple of people that I hadn't seen before. Judging by their strong resemblance to the rest of the family, I assumed that they were Ron's oldest brothers Charlie and Bill.

"You must be Emily," one of them said. "I'm Charlie - the best looking of the Weasley family."

"You wish," the other one laughed. "I'm Bill by the way."

"Hello," I smiled at them. "Nice to meet you."

"Aren't you George's girl?" Bill asked. "I thought I heard Mum talking all about you earlier. Apparently George hasn't plucked up the courage to ask you out yet, I'll have to knock him upside the head in a moment…"

"Yeah, George has always been shy around the ladies," Charlie laughed.

"Yeah, remember that one little blonde haired girl when he was only ten," Bill laughed. "Couldn't even talk to her - he was a mess!"

Well, that answered my question and I wasn't the happy about it at all. So apparently I was just some fling that he had last year that didn't really mean anything to him. I was just that girl that he used to have a crush on like that blonde haired girl that they were talking about. Just someone else to forget about.

I caught a look from Harry and I knew that he could tell what I was thinking and he knew I was upset. What could he do about it though? It's not like hitting George upside the head was actually going to do anything to change his mind.

They finished up their conversation, something that I hadn't been paying attention to, and we walked out into the backyard towards the garden where we were going to have dinner that night. There were too many of us to have in the kitchen, so we thought it would be best if we just ate outside where there would be plenty of room for the two huge tables that we were going to set up for us all.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and I watched as Charlie and Bill began to have some kind of epic battle with the two floating tables. We all laughed and cheered as the two tables that were up in the air were thrown at each other like two weapons and made a loud banging noise each time they collided. Harry kept giving me concerned looks ever now and then and I would try my best to ignore him. I know that he was just worrying that what Bill and Charlie were talking about earlier had upset me and I guess that he wasn't exactly wrong about it. I just proffered to sulk in silence I suppose.

By seven that evening, all of us were at the table and eating a gigantic dinner that was prepared by Mrs. Weasley. It was really awkward though because I had to sit next to George though. He didn't really try to talk to me for a good while, which didn't help his case with me being mad at him and all. Harry sat on my other side and kept looking over at me, probably to make sure that I wasn't choking the life out of a certain red-headed twin to my left.

"Why are you being so quiet?" George asked me.

"I don't know _George_," I said. "You tell me."

Harry's eyes widened and he quickly cut into our conversation.

"George, can you please pass the potatoes?" he asked nervously.

George did this silently and then continued to eat without talking to me about what I had said just a moment ago. Instead of concentrating on my anger, I did my best to listen to the conversation that my end of the table was having about the Quidditch World Cup.

"Ireland is definitely going to win," Charlie said. "There team is doing excellent this year."

"I don't know," Fred said. "Bulgaria does have Victor Krum on their team."

"Who is that?" I asked Harry and Ron.

"_What_?" Ron asked while dropping his fork onto his plate. "You don't know who Victor Krum is?"

"No," I said.

"He is Bulgaria's Seeker!" Ron said. "Krum is one of the best players in the league!"

"He's really good looking too," Ginny giggled.

They continued to discuss the possibility of either teams success for the remainder of the meal until we finally finished up and had to clear the table. I stood up quickly and began to pick up some of the dirty dishes that needed to be cleaned off. I didn't speak to anyone else until I made it into the kitchen where Harry pulled me off into the living room.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I said in a blunt manner.

"You can't lie to me Emily," he said. "Is it about what Bill said earlier?"

"Maybe…" I said looking down at my feet.

Harry sighed and looked around the room to make sure that no one else was in there.

"You honestly shouldn't worry about it," Harry said. "Did you hear what they said? George gets shy around girls - maybe that's why he's putting this off."

"That or he has no interest in me at all," I said without meeting his eyes. "He could have just been messing with me last year…"

"If that was the case then I would have killed him already," Harry said seriously. "He likes you, just give him a little time. George can be really dumb - you know that he can."

I smiled and looked up at him. He gave a me a tight hug and then pulled me out into the other room where everyone else was in attempt to get my mind off of things. Before the night was over, I felt a lot better. I guess that Harry just knew how to make me feel better.

* * *

><p>"Time to wake up."<p>

I rolled over to see Mrs. Weasley turning on the lights to the room. It was still dark outside, but we were told the night before that we would have to wake up really early in order to make it to the game on time. Considering the amount of people we had with us, it was going to take a while.

I walked over towards the closet that held my things and threw on a pair of jeans and regular green t-shirt with a black coat over top. For the game, we were told that we had to wear Muggle clothes so we didn't attract attention from any outsiders because of the large amount of people that were going to be there.

When I got downstairs, I saw that the whole family wasn't actually awake yet. Apparently Charlie, Bill, and Percy were all going to be Apparating to the game instead of going along with us. As to how we were getting there, I wasn't really sure.

"Are we going to walk there or something?" I asked Mr. Weasley.

"Of course not!" Mr. Weasley laughed. "That is miles away - we're going another way."

Before long, all of us, aside from Mrs. Weasley who wasn't going with us, were walking out of the house towards some unknown location that Mr. Weasley kept telling us about. We walked a good distance before anyone spoke up.

"Now, we just need to find the Portkey," Mr. Weasley said.

"What is a Portkey?" Harry asked as if he was reading my mind.

"They're objects that are used to transport wizards from one spot to another at a prearranged time," Mr. Weasley answered. "They can be any kind of normal object, but they have to be something that Muggles wouldn't just go around picking up."

We all split up to go searching for it, but we didn't have any immediate luck. It wasn't even a couple of minutes later when I heard an unfamiliar voice call across the hill.

"It's over here Arthur!" a man called. "We've found it!"

All of us walked across the hill to find a couple of other men standing there. I recognized the one as Cedric Diggory from school, he was the Hufflepuff Seeker, and I assumed that the other man was his father. Next to them say an old boot that looked as though it was rotting. I guess that was the Portkey.

"This is Amos Diggory everyone," Mr. Weasley introduced the one man. "I'm sure that you all know his son Cedric."

"Hello," Cedric smiled.

I had seen Cedric several times in school and the talk about him was all true. He was extremely attractive.

"Are all these children yours Arthur?" Mr. Diggory asked curiously.

"Not all of them," Mr. Weasley said. "These three are not - they are friends of Ron's. This is Hermione, Emily, and Harry."

"Merlin's beard," Mr. Diggory with wide eyes. "You two must be the Potter twins!"

"Hello," Harry and I smiled at him.

"Cedric's told me all about the two of you," Mr. Diggory said. "Told me that all the boys were after little Miss Potter here - very beautiful you see. I told him that he should try to sweep you off your feet, but he wouldn't listen to a word of it!"

"Dad, please stop…" Cedric said looking down.

I felt myself starting to blush and I couldn't help but notice that George was practically glaring at Cedric at this point. I know that they weren't exactly on the best of terms since Hufflepuff won that one match against Gryffindor, but I'm pretty sure that the knowledge that Cedric had even spoken my name to his father had sent him off the edge.

"He also mentioned that he's played you in Quidditch before Harry," Mr. Diggory said. "That'll be a story he can tell his grandchildren! He beat Harry Potter in Quidditch!"

"Dad, I already told you that he fell off his broom," Cedric said. "It was an accident!"

"Doesn't that just prove that you're the better flier?" Mr. Diggory said proudly.

"No, you weren't there, you didn't see what happened," Cedric tried to explain. "I told you that-"

"He's just a gentlemen," Mr. Diggory said. "Won't admit that he is the better player-"

"I think that it's time to go now," Mr. Weasley said looking down at his watch. "We better get ready."

"What do we do?" I asked.

"You just need to touch the Portkey when I tell you to," Mr. Weasley explained. "Everyone ready?"

We all stood around the boot and got prepared to grab for it when Mr. Weasley said so. He continued to look at his watch for a few seconds longer.

"Three…two…one…" Mr. Weasley said. "NOW!"

We all grabbed for the boot, putting a single finger on it. It happened almost immediately. My feet left the ground in a rush that felt like I was flying and it seemed to go on forever. After what seemed like a century, all of our feet slammed on the ground.

We had made it to the Quidditch World Cup.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! Sorry if it wasn't that good, I've been really sick recently and I just tried to do the best I could with this chapter. I hope that it turned out okay!<strong>

**Cheerfully Blue - I wouldn't say that the scar completely healed up, it just left a light trace of a scratch that is hardly noticeable. Thanks for the question, I meant to mention that earlier!**

**PLEASE REVIEW and don't forget to VOTE!**


	4. Vector Krum and the Quidditch World Cup

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 4**

We all stood up quickly and looked around to see a lot of people walking all around the area. The majority of the people were obviously witches and wizards judging by their attire in mismatched and uncoordinated Muggle clothing that they had attempted to look normal in. It was actually rather amusing to see them dressed so ridiculously.

Not that far away from us was a man that knew Mr. Weasley. He directed us to a further location where we were going to check in and go to our tent. The check-in booth was about a quarter mile away and it didn't take all that long to get there. When we got there, it was obvious that this was the only real Muggle in the entire area judging by the way that he was dressed.

"Good morning!" Mr. Weasley greeted him.

"Morning," the Muggle said. "What's your name?"

"Weasley," Mr. Weasley said. "We booked a couple of tents for a single night."

"You'll be set up in the woods just over there," he said. "You'll need to pay now."

Mr. Weasley pulled out some Muggle money that he had in his pocket and started flipping through it nervously. It was as though he had never dealt with Muggle money before. Wait…that's probably because he hadn't.

"Is this a ten?" he whispered to me.

"No, that's a twenty," I whispered back. "See the number right there?"

"Oh, that makes sense…" he said back.

He handed the man the money and we started to walk off. I found it really odd that they had a Muggle working the check-in booth considering the amount of witches and wizards that were roaming the area. I turned around a moment and saw a wizard pointing a wand at him and saying, "Obliviate!" Now that made some sense. They were just going to modify the man's memory so he wouldn't actually remember anything that happened on the field today.

We walked on a little further and I noticed a sign that read WEEZLY on it and I assumed that was our spot. It was actually a really good spot considering where the actual Quidditch field was set up. It wasn't that far of a walk.

"Okay, we just need to set up the tent," Mr. Weasley announced happily. "Harry - Emily - you two know how to do this I suppose."

Harry and I looked at each other with an eyebrow raised. Neither of us knew how to set up a tent because we had never been camping before. The Dursleys would never dare to go camping because that could risk a possible tantrum from Dudley who could miss one of his television programs and that was just unacceptable.

"Can't we just use magic?" we asked after announcing that we didn't know how to set it up.

"We aren't supposed to use magic around here," Mr. Weasley said. "Too many Muggles in the area, so we aren't supposed to risk them seeing us. No worries though, I'm sure that we'll be able to figure it out."

It took a good while, but Harry, Hermione, and I managed to figure out where all the pegs and poles were supposed to go. When we were finished, two very small tents stood in front of us. How were we all supposed to fit inside?

"I suppose it'll be a bit cramped, but it'll work," Mr. Weasley said happily. "Go on in!"

I hesitantly walked into the tent after Harry and I was immediately shocked. The outside of the tent was extraordinarily deceiving. Inside of the tent there was a three-room flat that even had a complete bathroom and kitchen. It was amazing!

That wasn't the tent that I was staying in though - I was going to be in the girl's tent with Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny. Our tent was only slightly smaller, but it was still bigger than I would imagine the tent to be from the outside.

"Emily - isn't that your owl?" Fred asked me once we were all outside.

I looked over to my right side where he was looking and saw Hoot flying towards me. In his foot was a single note and I knew exactly who it was from. I also noticed that Hermione was paying close attention when I took the letter from Hoot's foot.

"Who are you writing to?" Fred asked.

"She's not going to tell you," Hermione said while pursing her lips. "She _refused_ to tell me yesterday."

"You hear that Georgey?" Fred called over to his brother. "Emily has a secret admirer!"

I hit him in the arm and glared at him.

"He isn't a secret admirer - it has _nothing_ to do with that!" I yelled. "If you actually knew who it was then you would feel like a complete idiot for saying that too!"

"So you admit that it's a bloke," Fred said with a smile.

"You are unbelievable," I rolled my eyes.

I stomped off into the tent and ignored the laughs that I was getting from the Weasleys and my brother. The only person that wasn't laughing was George. He was unbelievable! If he knew that it was actually Snape that I was writing to then he wouldn't even care. Why should he care anyway? It's not like we're dating anyway. What should it matter to him?

Once I got into my tent, I went into my room and sat down on the bed that I would be sleeping in for the night that we would be here. I opened up the letter quickly and started to read through it:

_Dear Emily,_

_I'm happy to know that you will keep me updated on whether or not you keep having those dreams. Make sure to ask your brother if he is having them as well (even if you aren't having them yourself)._

_What did the Dursleys do to you this summer? Did they harm you? If they did, I will make sure to pay them a special visit…don't worry though, I will make sure that they won't remember any of it._

_No, I have never been to a professional Quidditch game before, my father made sure that I never actually enjoyed anything in life because that might actually make my mother happy - something that I am sure would have angered my father further._

_I am not a mother hen! I am simply just looking out for your well-being - is that a crime? If you prefer to be reckless and have no guidance at all, then just say the words my dear and I will leave you be. I just wanted you to be careful - bad things could happen anytime and anywhere, just be on your guard, that's all I ask._

_Love,_

_Severus_

_P.S. Just be sure to call me Professor Snape while in class. Some people might think that it is a bit strange that a student is calling her professor by their first name._

When I set the letter down, I couldn't help but feel touched and somewhat depressed about what was written on the parchment in front of me.

I was touched that Severus cared so much about my well-being, but I could hardly believe what he had said about his father. He had never really been one to reveal anything about his personal life to me and now this was thrown on me. I'm not sure what was worse - what he had written about his father or the casual way that he had put it. It wasn't hard to guess from what he had written that he had a very rough childhood where his parents were in a constant fight. Did his father abuse him and/or his mother? Is that just another reason that he seems so upset all of the time?

I pulled out another piece of parchment and began to write:

_Dear Severus,_

_Don't worry, the Dursleys were just being aggravating - they didn't harm Harry or me at all over the summer, so don't kill them! Well…maybe you could…no, don't kill them._

_You are a bit like a mother hen, but don't worry - it's actually kind of funny. I do need someone to look after Harry and me - especially Harry, I am the better twin (HAHA!) - so you shouldn't stop writing me._

_I'm really sorry about your parents, why haven't you ever mentioned them before? I wish that you would talk to me more about stuff like that because I feel like I don't know anything about your personal life and you could probably write a book on my life._

_I hope to talk to you soon!_

_Love,_

_Emily_

_P.S. Don't worry, I will._

I know that I didn't really get my point across about wanting to know about his past, but I didn't want to get too pushy. It was very obvious that he hadn't had a very easy life and I wasn't really sure if he wanted to talk about it at all - I just wanted to let him know that he could talk to me about it if he wanted to.

I folded up my letter and set it into an envelope. Hoot took it happily and began to fly out of the door and out into the distance. Once I had put everything back in its place, I walked back outside to where everyone else was standing around an ordinary campfire.

"Hey, we're going to get some water," Harry said. "Do you want to go with us?"

"Why can't we just-" I started.

"Anti-Muggle security," Ron rolled his eyes. "We don't want to alarm any of the Muggles - not that they're even here anyway…"

"Just go Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.

As we started our walk, I discovered that the water that we were going to get was actually located on the opposite side of the field, so it was going to be a little bit of a walk. On the way there, none of us (meaning Harry, Ron, Hermione, and myself) didn't really get a chance to talk much because we were way too focused on our surroundings. It was amazing how many people had shown up to see the games. They came from all different areas and all of them varied in age - I even saw a few babies on our way.

"Wow, it's really green over here," I said as we moved on further.

All around the area we could see green - obviously in support of the Irish - and shamrock could be seen with every turn of your head.

"Hey!" I heard a voice call. "Harry! Emily! Ron! Hermione! Over here!"

I turned around to see the familiar face of Seamus Finnagan. Beside him stood Dean Thomas, another Gryffindor of our year. Both of them were standing in front of a bright green tent that was covered in shamrocks in support for their team.

"Do you like our decorations?" Seamus asked pointing back to his tent. "The Ministry isn't too happy about them."

"Why not?" I asked.

"They don't like the kind of attention that it draws," Seamus said. "But we don't care, if the Bulgarians can support their team then we can too. You're supporting Ireland, right?"

"Of course," Ron said.

After we spent a moment talking about the upcoming game, we all decided to take a look at Bulgaria's side to see what they had been doing to their tents. When we got there, we saw that most of them were hanging their flag over their tents in support. There was also another large poster of someone that hung nearby.

"Krum," Ron said in amazement.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"It's Victor Krum on the poster there," Ron said.

I looked back over to the poster to get a better look at the Bulgarian Seeker. He was a rather tall, burly man with thick eyebrows. He looked rather angry.

"That's him?" I asked.

"He looks so…grumpy," Hermione said.

"It doesn't matter," Ron said in annoyance. "He's a brilliant player and he's only eighteen or something - you just wait and see!"

We finally made it around to the water tap and filled up the bucket that we had with us. Soon enough, we were on our way back to the tent. On our way back, I got to catch a glimpse of the field that I hadn't really been paying attention to on the way here. The field was absolutely enormous - it could probably fit the entire wizarding community if it wanted to. I wonder how many people were going to be in there…

Then I looked ahead and noticed that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were a good distance ahead of me, so I started to run to catch up when-

"Ouch!" I said as I ran directly into someone and fell to the ground.

I looked up and saw someone standing over me that made my jaw drop.

"Sorry about zat," he said in a thick accent. "I didn't see you zere."

He held out his hand to help me up and when he did I noticed just how much taller this man was in comparison to me. However, he did look slightly different then I had seen him before.

"Are you…?" I started.

"No, I am not Victor Krum," he said. "My name iz Vector Krum - I am Victor's twin brozzer. What iz your name?"

"I'm Emily Potter," I smiled. "Nice to meet you Vector."

"Wait a minute - do you mean _zee_ Emily Potter?" he asked sounding astounded.

"Um…yes…" I said awkwardly.

"It iz quite ze pleazure to meet you Mizz Potter," Vector said as he took my hand in his and kissed it. "I 'ave heard all about you, but I vas never told how beautiful you are."

"Oh, well thank you," I smiled. "You're quite beautiful - I mean handsome yourself."

He laughed and started to say something when I heard someone calling my name. I looked over and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione all coming towards me. Ron's jaw dropped when he saw who I was talking to.

"There you are," Harry said. "We've been looking for you."

"You-" Ron started.

"This is _Vector_ Krum," I corrected him before he could say anything. "He's Victor Krum's twin brother."

"He has a twin brother?" Ron asked.

"Yes, he does," Vector smiled.

"Wow," Ron said in amazement. "You look just like him."

"That's not very uncommon with twins Ronald," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Who are your friends Emily?" Vector asked politely.

"This is Ron, Hermione, and my brother Harry," I pointed out.

"It's nice to meet you all," he smiled. "But I must be going, I have to meet up with my family."

"See you later," I said.

After that we continued on towards the tent, Ron kept asking whether or not Vector mentioned anything about the game or Victor. I told Ron that he had a serious obsession problem, but he still didn't stop talking until we made it back to the WEEZLY sign and set the bucket down. Everyone was still gathered around the fire and they all looked at us as we returned.

"What took you so long?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"We met a few people," Harry told her.

"EMILY RAN INTO VICTOR'S BROTHER!" Ron announced loudly.

"Thank you for pointing that out _again_ RON!" I yelled back at him.

We sat down next to Fred, George, Bill, Percy, and Charlie (who had just arrived) around the fire and Ron started talking up a storm again about the whole situation.

"Am I the only one that didn't know that Victor is a twin?" Ron asked.

"Only cool people have twins," Fred smiled.

"That's right," Harry, George, and I said at the same time.

We all laughed and looked across the field to the other people that were setting up their tents still. I guess not everyone was as skilled as us when it came to putting up their tent without magic.

"Vector seemed a lot happier than his brother," Hermione said. "He was smiling a lot."

"Probably because Emily was there," Harry nudged me.

"Shut up," I nudged back.

"He was kissing your hand when found you," Ron said.

"Cedric wasn't joking when he said that all the boys are after you Emily," Charlie laughed.

"He wasn't _after me_," I said. "He was just being polite."

"I heard him calling you beautiful Emily," Hermione said.

"Oh whatever," I shrugged it off.

They all started laughing at me. Except for one person who didn't find in amusing at all that some guy was "hitting on me." George just looked at the ground with a sad look on his face as everyone else moved on to a new topic.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! Tell me what you think of the new character! Do you like him? Do you think that it's going to cause a problem with the Emily-George relationship? By the way, the idea for Vector Krum came from BlueMoon-Tenshi who is also considering using him in her story but was so kind as to allow me to use to use the character as well.<strong>

**Sorry if I'm writing too many letters between Snape and Emily - I hope that it doesn't bother too many people. There shouldn't be too many more going on considering that the school year is about to start up. I hope that you all don't mind!**

**By the way, many people commented saying that they liked the little Harry-Emily brother-sister moment in the previous chapter. I'm sorry that I haven't had that many of those, I haven't really thought to include them and it makes it seem as though Harry and Emily aren't really all that close. Not to tell you my life story, but I do come from a huge family and I have several brothers and sisters, but we aren't exactly that sentimental with one another. I guess that my relationship with my brothers and sisters sort of reflected on the way that the two of them interact. I'll try to make them seem closer from now on.**

**Yes, the poll was made a "Blind Poll" a while ago because I didn't want you all to see what the results were in the end. I can still see them myself and I will post the results once the poll is finished. I would also like to ask everyone to not be mad with whatever result that it turns out to be. People have brought up in the comments their opinion on who should participate in the Triwizard Tournament, but I want everyone to know that I am going strictly off what the poll says. I'm sorry if the result doesn't please you, but that's sort of the point of the poll, so I'm just going to go with the majority.**

**Well, I believe that I've rambled enough, so - again - thanks for reading this story and PLEASE REVIEW and VOTE!**


	5. Harry, You Aren't My Father

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter now and I never will.**

**Chapter 5**

It wasn't long after dinner was served that Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman came by to talk to Mr. Weasley about work, the news, and the upcoming game. To be quite honest, I wasn't all that interested in what they had to say, so I just ate and listened in ever now and then. I only really started to pay attention when I noticed that Fred and George were making a bet with Ludo Bagman.

"Thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts that Ireland wins," Fred said. "But Victor Krum gets the Snitch. We'll throw in a fake wand too."

"Harry - write that down," George said frantically. "We cannot forget those numbers."

George still seemed to be a little bummed about me talking to Vector Krum, but the talk of betting and money seemed to take his mind off of it.

"Hey, do you have a quill that I can borrow?" Harry asked me.

"Yeah, it's in my tent inside of my bag," I told him as he started walking towards the tent.

I turned back to the conversation and my potatoes just in time to see Mrs. Weasley start her lecturing.

"Boys," she said. "I don't want you gambling - I've told you this a million times!"

"Oh, don't spoil the fun Molly!" Ludo Bagman said loudly. "We're just having fun here!"

Fred and George sat back down as Bagman and Crouch left and talked about their chances with the bet. I didn't see how they figured that they were actually going to win this bet, but it was their money after all.

"So, did Krum's brother give you any hints about what his brother is going to do in the game?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, I mean we're such great friends now," I rolled my eyes. "We hardly spoke!"

"That's probably because he was too busy drooling over you," George said in an almost angry sounding tone.

"He wasn't drooling over me George," I snapped. "It was just a compliment. A one time thing - nothing will ever become of it because one person can't get up the courage to take it to the next level."

Fred threw a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing at the dumbfounded expression on George's face. I'm not sure how subtle that hint was, but I hoped to get my point across.

"Emily, come in here for a moment," Harry's voice came from my tent.

"Ooh - someone is in trouble!" Fred poked my side.

"Shut up," I swatted at his hand and threw a look over at George who seemed to be thinking really hard about something.

I threw open the tent and walked inside to see Harry standing in the middle of the room, a piece of unfolded parchment in his hand.

"What is this?" he asked patiently.

"It appears to be a piece of parchment," I said irritably, still thinking about the conversation that I just had outside of the tent.

"How long have you been writing to him Emily?" he asked bluntly.

"W-what?" I asked completely dumbfounded.

"How long have you been writing to Snape?" he asked a little angrily.

Oh no. He'd found the letters. How could I have been so dumb to have just let him go through my bag knowing that those letters were there. I had to get them from him. I walked quickly towards him and went to take them from his hands, but he backed away from me.

"Give those to me right now," I demanded.

"Just answer my question Emily!" he shouted.

"What does it matter to you how long we've been writing?" I retorted. "It's none of your business!"

"I'm your brother in case you've forgotten - I have every right to know who you're writing to and why!"

"You're not my father!" I shouted. "I don't have to explain anything to you!"

"We've never kept anything from each other - why this?"

"Because you wouldn't understand! You'd be furious if you'd known I was writing to Snape!"

"So that's who you've been writing to?" someone asked.

I spun around and saw Hermione, Fred, George, and Ron all standing at the front of the tent. There was no doubt that the entire family was listening in from outside.

"Stay out of this Hermione," Harry snapped. "You've obviously been writing him for a while based on what is said in this letter. You told him about the dreams? How could you do that? How could you-"

"Because I trust him!" I shouted. "Is that so wrong? I thought that he could help us - believe it or not he actually does care about us-"

"He doesn't care about me-"

"Yes he does! He's looking out for the both of us whether you believe it or not!"

"That's what Sirius is for! He's our godfather - not that stinking old-"

"Enough," Mr. Weasley cut in. "The entire campground can hear the both of you."

Harry just glared at me for a moment then he stormed out of the tent. I stood there along with the others for a moment, just standing there shaking in anger at my brother. How could he be so angry at me for such a little thing. It didn't even matter!

"Harry!" Ron called after my brother as he ran out of the tent to catch up to him.

There was a moment of silence before anyone did anything inside of the tent, then people began to go back outside so they weren't so cramped up in the tent. The only ones that remained were Hermione, Fred, and George.

"I'm going to go talk to Harry," Hermione said. "Maybe I can calm him down…"

She walked out of the room leaving only myself and Fred and George in the room. They didn't say anything for a moment, probably thinking that I would turn on them next.

"I'm on your side, just so you know," George said.

"Suck up…" Fred muttered.

I shot Fred a look and he started laughing.

"You really shouldn't get too worked up about it," he said.

"Harry's just overreacting," George said. "He'll get over it."

"He's just mad that you've been secretly talking to someone he hates," Fred shrugged.

I sat down for a little while and Fred and George kept doing random things to make me laugh so I wouldn't be angry anymore. I love those two.

It wasn't long before Harry came back to the tent though. When he did, I stood up again and Fred and George stopped acting like idiots (not like that's even possible).

"Can I talk to her alone please?" Harry asked everyone.

"Sure thing buddy," George said.

"Just don't kill her," Fred said. "It'd be difficult to explain…"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at them as the exited the tent. Once they did, Harry sat down in a nearby chair and looked up at me.

"I'm sorry," we said at the same time.

"No, let me go first," Harry said. "I shouldn't have freaked out - it really isn't that bad…I guess…you should just know that I don't like it."

"I should have told you though," I said. "I knew that you would be mad though…"

"Let's just…forget about this I guess," he said slowly.

We both nodded in agreement and decided to leave it at that. When we walked back outside, everyone was staring at us. They wouldn't stop until Harry threw his arm around my shoulder and we both smiled to show that we weren't going to kill each other. They all laughed and we just sat down and continued on with our evening as if nothing had happened.

"Ew," Fred said suddenly. "That means that I suggested that Snape was your secret admirer."

* * *

><p>Finally the time came around for the game to start. Just before we walked into the stadium, Harry and I bought four of these things called Omnioculars - these brass looking binoculars that had the ability to replay an action, slow down what you see, etc. We bought four so that we could give a pair to both Ron and Hermione (both telling us that we couldn't give them a Christmas present for years in payment).<p>

"We'll be sitting in the Top Box," Mr. Weasley said happily as we walked into the stadium.

Our jaws dropped as we stepped in and saw what looked to be thousands and thousands of people that filled the arena to its limits. I couldn't imagine that anyone else could fit in here at this point. I looked over at Harry who had the same amazed expression that I had. We had never been in such a huge stadium.

After getting through a large crowd of people, we finally made it to the Top Box - the best seating in the entire stadium. Only the really important people got to sit up here. Well, no one was sitting here yet except for an odd looking creature with huge eyes.

"Dobby?" Harry asked beside me.

"That's not Dobby Harry," I whispered to him as we took our seats.

I sat down towards the end of the row next to a few seats that were reserved for someone. Harry sat down next to me and Ron and Hermione afterwards.

"Who sits there?" Ron asked pointing to the chairs directly next to me.

"I don't know," I said. "There are three people though..."

I looked next to me and noticed that Harry was in a deep conversation with the house-elf that he had been mistaken for Dobby. Her name was Winky and she had a very high-pitched voice and looked really nervous about being up at this kind of height.

"Oh my god!" Ron said suddenly.

I turned and saw him staring at three people entering the Top Box. The one I recognized instantly as Vector Krum from the night before and, judging by their appearance, his parents walking beside him. When Vector caught my eye, he gave me a smile and a wave. I waved back and took note of the color that George's face was turning as the Krum family drew closer to us.

"I see dat you shall be sitting next to me Emily," Vector smiled as he took his seat in the reserved seating next to me.

"Harry," George said suddenly. "Would you mind if we switched seats? I feel like you would have a much better view of the scoreboard from this angle. I wouldn't want you to miss out on this view."

I raised an eyebrow and looked directly ahead of myself to see that we had a perfectly clear view of the scoreboard from where we were sitting. What was he up to? I got a quick glance from Harry before he stood up and started to switch with George.

"Thanks Harry," George said sounding relieved.

"What are you thanking me for?" Harry laughed. "Your supposed to be the one doing a favor for me."

"Right, of course," George nodded as he plopped down in the seat next to me.

George just looked ahead at the scoreboard, watching the advertisements go by on them, and acting as though I didn't exist.

"I don't believe you've met my parents Emily," Vector said. "Zis iz my mum-"

He pointed to the woman to his immediate left who had long, dark brown hair.

"And zis is my father-"

Next to the woman sat a man who also had dark brown hair and shared a strong resemblance to that of his two sons.

"Zis iz Emily Potter," Vector smiled.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled and shook both of their hands.

"Zee pleazure iz all mine," Mrs. Krum said.

"It iz quite an honor to meet you," Mr. Krum said in a deep voice. "I've heard all about you and your brother."

"I'm George Weasley," George announced abruptly. "I'm one of Emily's best friends."

I just raised an eyebrow and looked over at him in amazement. What was his deal? He seemed to have developed some kind of an attitude ever since Vector and his family arrived.

"Hello," Vector waved innocently over to him. "It's nice to meet you."

"Right," George said in a blunt manner as he turned back towards the field.

"You 'ave very odd friends," Vector laughed.

"Yeah, they can be really dumb sometimes," I said pointedly at George.

He gave me a sour look and turned back to the arena and acted as though he wasn't listening even though it was obvious that he was listening to every word that we were saying to one another.

"So you enjoy Quidditch?" Vector asked me. "Have you ever played?"

"No, I haven't actually played before, but my brother does," I said. "Quidditch is more his thing. Though I do enjoy watching it. It's a pretty interesting sport - it's just more of Harry's thing. Have you ever played?"

"I played in school," he said casually. "I wasn't that bad, but Victor was a lot better than me. It waz more of a hobby for me - it waz more serious for 'im."

"Hey Emily," George said next to me. "Remember that time you played Quidditch at our house over the summer during our second year. You were on my team, remember?"

"George, I only played for like two minutes," I said. "And that was how long ago?"

"It was fun though, right?" he asked.

"Well, yes," I said. "But I didn't really play that well."

"You were an excellent flier though - I told you that," he said.

"I know that you did," I said.

"You should have tried out for the team," he said.

"But I don't know how to play," I said.

"I could teach you," he suggested. "Still can - if you would only give me a chance before making some rash decision and leaving me."

Suddenly I got the feeling that we weren't talking about Quidditch anymore. Maybe he had finally picked up on why I was so angry with him. I started to say something else, but was stopped by the sight of three more people that were coming into the Top Box.

"Why, is that Arthur Weasley?" Mr. Malfoy said as he entered the area.

Mr. Weasley just nodded in greeting and I could sense the tension in the area. The last time these two men saw each other was inside of Flourish and Blotts when they had been fighting only two years ago. Beside Mr. Malfoy was someone that I assumed to be his wife and next to her was a familiar face. It was Draco Malfoy. I had a very complicated relationship with this boy. During our first and second year at Hogwarts, we both sort of hated each other - that wasn't that weird though because it was pretty normal at the time. But last year he sort of developed this huge crush on me and was completely insane over me. It was rather creepy. I am happy to say that he now just considers me a friend and ONLY that.

"I hope that you didn't lose your house in order to buy all these tickets," Mr. Malfoy chuckled. "I would have the greatest sympathy for you."

"Wow...someone's an ass..." I muttered under my breath.

George let out a small laugh and turned back towards the Malfoy's who were walking over to take their seats. Draco gave me a small wave before sitting down and then starting talking to his parents about something.

"Is he still in love with you?" George asked while eyeing Draco intently.

"No, we're just friends," I said. "He told me that he was over it last year before we got onto the train."

"Good..." he said. Then in a hushed tone I don't think I was supposed to here he muttered, "One less I have to compete with..."

I raised an eyebrow and he blushed and looked away from me. Then I heard someone else walking into the Top Box and turned to see Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge walking in.

"Everyone ready?" Bagman asked excitedly before he pointed his wand at his throat.

"Ready when you are," Fudge said as he took a seat.

Then in a booming voice, Ludo Bagman said:

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! Tell me what you think and don't forget to VOTE on the poll - the time is running short.<strong>

**The Agent of Fire: Yes, she still has a small, faint trace of the scar. I would say that it isn't that noticeable on her face anymore though. Thanks for the question!**

**XxMixedXxLoverXx: That's the kind of relationship that I have with my brothers and sisters. We normally just insult each other as some kind of joke - we don't really mean anything by it. I guess that people that only have one other sibling might be a little closer though - I can't really understand that completely because I'm one of thirteen children. XD**

**flourish1998: Happy to hear your opinion on Vector - you'll just have to wait and see where that leads. :D**

**lostfeather1: Thanks! Like I said before, I actually got the idea for Vector from BlueMoon-Tenshi, so don't give me all the credit.**

**GhostOfFanfiction: Snape really is a mother hen, he just doesn't want to admit it. :D**

**shieldmaidenofthecarribean: thanks for your suggestions - I'll take them into consideration. **

**Cheerfully Blue: You'll just have to see where Vector's part leads in this story - I hope that you'll like it. :D**

**Innocent-Monster: You'll find that out soon enough - I'm trying not to give too much away.**

**RR: THANKS!**

**Sara: I'm considering writing an original story after this one on . I haven't made an account on there, but I'll tell everyone if I do. By the way, thanks for the suggestion, I used it in this chapter! I hope you liked it!**

**Princess Twila: There seem to be a lot of twins in this story. lol**

**EmInsane: Yeah, I feel as though it's pretty obvious what I'm going to be doing with Vector in the picture. I hope that it doesn't get too boring though. D:**

**Again, thanks for reading! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. The Mark of Lord Voldemort

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 6**

The crowd went wild as the scoreboard finally changed from showing advertisements to the words BULGARIA: 0 and IRELAND 0.

"Now, I would like to introduce the Bulgarian mascots!" Batman announced.

Suddenly the field below filled with hundreds of women. All of them had long, beautiful white-gold hair that fanned out perfectly. They danced around the stadium in perfect formation as the music played around them. I turned to see every man in the area practically drooling over these women and Harry had even started walking closer to the balcony of the box, most likely to get a better look. I knew that I was wrong as soon as Harry started to climb over the wall.

"HARRY!" I called to him and he suddenly left his trance. "What are you doing?"

He backed away from the wall suddenly, but continued to watch the women as they twirled. Then I took a look at George next to me to notice that he was paying full attention to them, not even blinking and practically to the point of drooling. When the music stopped, it seemed to break the trance. George looked over to me apologetically. I just crossed my arms and turned my attention back to the field.

"Oh come on," George pleaded. "They're veela - that's what they do!"

"Mhmm," I said pursing my lips.

"Is someone jealous?" he smiled happily.

"Yeah, because you're one to talk about being jealous..." I muttered.

"There just dancers!" George laughed. "They don't mean anything to me!"

"Mhmm..." I mumbled.

I don't know why I was so jealous of the way that George was looking at the veela. They were only dancers...I guess I secretly wished that George looked at me like that...well, maybe not the drooling, that would be pretty obnoxious.

"And now the Irish team's mascots!" Ludo announced.

Suddenly a huge green and gold comet went soaring through the air. They spun around the stadium a couple of times before a giant rainbow formed that stretched from one side of the stadium to the other. Once the rainbow faded away, a giant leprechaun formed from the light that had once been the rainbow. The leprechaun began to fly around the stadium, throwing gold all around.

"This is wonderful!" Ron shouted as he grabbed for the gold.

Everyone began to clap and cheer as the mascots finally zoomed to the ground and Ludo Bagman went on with announcing.

"Introducing the Bulgarian National Quidditch team!"

He began to call out several of the player's names and I practically went deaf when Victor Krum was called out from all the cheering. Vector and his family looked as though this was their proudest moment.

As the names were called, the Bulgarian team zoomed into the stadium and all around a few times. The crowd continued to cheer as they took their position on the field.

"And the Irish National Team!"

He called out their names and the players zoomed out onto the field on their brooms as the crowd went wild. Once they took their positions, the crowd was cheering so loud that I couldn't hear anything else but their screams except a single announcement.

"LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"

The Quaffle was thrown into the air and the players flew through the air with great speed. I pulled out my binoculars and watched as the Quaffle was thrown from player to player and down the field.

"TROY SCORES!" Bagman announced.

"But he doesn't even have the Quaffle!" Harry shouted.

"Harry - you have to watch the game at normal speed!" I yelled back to him over the roar of the crowd.

The game went on in what seemed to be complete chaos as both teams fought hard to win the game. The Quaffle was thrown from player to player at such speeds that I could hardly keep up with them.

"Oh my gosh - look at them!" Hermione pointed to the field.

I watched as Krum nose-dived down to the ground and the Irish Seeker was right on his heels. The were flying directly at the ground, apparently after the Snitch.

"They're going to hit the ground!" Ginny yelled.

Just when they were inches from the ground, Krum suddenly changed direction and zoomed off in another direction, leaving the Irish Seeker to smash into the ground. The Irish side of the crowd was in complete uproar.

"He was only feinting!" Mr. Weasley yelled. "I cannot believe it!"

"What is feinting?" I asked.

"It iz when a-" Vector started.

"He was acting like he saw the Snitch so Lynch would follow him and smash into the ground," George explained, completely cutting off Vector.

"I vuz talking, you know?" Vector said irritably.

"Were you now?" George said innocently, though his hateful expression said otherwise. "I didn't hear you."

For a moment Vector and George just glared at one another, not breaking eye contact and there eyes were narrowed.

"I wonder if Lynch is okay," I said bringing their attention away from each

other.

"I'm sure that he'll be-"

"It's really hard to say," Vector cut in. "That was a pretty bad fall-"

"The Irish players are really tough though," George said. "Im sure he'll be fine."

They glared at each other even further until I decided I would leave to go to the bathroom so I could get a break from the two of them. Once I had exited the stadium, I went to step towards the bathrooms. There was a fairly long line for the bathroom, so when I got back to my seat, the stadium was going insane.

"HE'S SEEN THE SNITCH!" Harry shouted, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

I ran over to my seat and everyone stood up and watched Krum without looking away for a second. The crowd was going wild as Krum sped forward with his arm extended out.

"HE'S GOT THE SNITCH!" Bagman announced. "THE GAME IS OVER!"

I looked over towards the scoreboard with astonishment. It read BULGARIA: 160 and IRELAND: 170. Fred and George had just won their bet. How had they known?

The crowd was going crazy when they saw the final score flashing on the board. Leprechauns were zooming all around the stadium, cheering and dancing in the air. The Bulgarians, on the other hand, looked highly disappointed and glum.

"I cannot believe..." Vector said. "I cannot believe that we lost...Victor got the Snitch..."

Fred and George ran over to Ludo Bagman together and just held out their hands with huge smiles on their faces. They had won the bet.

...

When we were back in our tents, the sounds of the Irish singing could be heard all around the camp. We had all taken to celebrating our victory with singing, cheering, and drinking - well, the adults were anyway. I hadn't gotten the chance to speak to Vector after the game because George had managed to drag me out of the Top Box just before Vector started talking to me. I was starting to think that wasn't a coincidence. The celebrating didn't last long for me though. I had become extremely tired from the long day that we had just had and decided to go to sleep in our tent for the night.

I had a very odd dream that night. It involved George and Vector, both flying around me on a broomstick. They kept shouting insults at one another and just when they were about to collide in the air, I woke up suddenly. I looked around the room and still heard the cheering of the Irish. Once I decided that I wasn't going to be able to sleep, I rolled out of bed and grabbed my coat that was laying nearby. I stepped out of the tent and decided that I was going to look around the campgrounds to see what the rest of the people were up to. I had made it pretty far away from my tent when I heard a sudden scream come from someone not that far away. I rolled my eyes, thinking that people were just getting a little crazy, but I soon discovered that I was wrong. I looked over in the general direction of the scream and saw an enormous fire coming up from all of the tents.

I ran over in that direction and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw an enormous crowd of hooded and masked people marching in formation as they threw fire from their wands at nearby tents. They all cheered as more tents went up in flames. That's when I noticed something floating above them all. In the air were two people - one of them was the Muggle that we had seen operating the ticket booth the day before. The woman that was floating and flipping around was who I assumed to be his wife - another Muggle. Who were these people? Then I came back to reality when fire began to shoot in my direction. I leaped back quickly and landed on the ground with a thump. Within seconds, the campground went into complete chaos. Everyone was screaming and running away from the hooded crowd and it was difficult for me to even get up off the ground because I was being pushed about by the terrified crowd who was trying to escape.

Once I had steadied myself, I realized that I needed to get back to my tent as soon as possible. We had to get out of here as fast as we could. It took me a long time to push my way through the running crowd, but I finally made it back to the tent. When I did, I saw Mr. Weasley ordering Fred to do something.

"Mr. Weasley, we have to get out of here now!" I yelled over the screaming crowd.

"EMILY!" he yelled and pulled me closer to the tent. "Where have you been?"

"I was just-"

"We've been searching all around for you!" Fred yelled.

"You WHAT!" I yelled back. "Where is everyone - we need to-"

"Molly has already taken Ginny back to the house," Mr. Weasley explained quickly. "Everyone else is searching for you!"

"Oh my god - where is Harry?" I asked in a hurry.

"He went with Ron and Hermione that way!" Fred pointed in the other direction.

I took off in a hurry to go looking for them. I cannot believe that they would do something so reckless as searching for me in this crowd. What was wrong with them? Did they have a death wish.

"HARRY!" I screamed. "RON! HERMIONE!"

I screamed that repeatedly as I pushed my way against the crowd. I began to panic as I got further through the field. Had they gotten this close to the hooded people? Then I heard my name being yelled and I spun in that direction.

"EMILY!" Harry was yelling as he pushed his way around some people.

"HARRY!" I screamed.

He spun around and I could see the relief on his face when he saw me through the crowd. I knew how he felt because I immediately felt better knowing that he was safe. Ron and Hermione ran over beside us when they saw that I had been found.

"We need to get out of here!" I yelled over the crowd's screams. "They're getting closer!"

I grabbed onto Harry's hand and pulled him through the crowd. We all hung on to one another until we made it back to the tent. Something was still wrong though - someone was missing.

"There you all are," Mr. Weasley said when he saw us.

"Where's George?" I asked, my voice cracking with worry.

"We don't know!" Charlie yelled over to me. "He went with us, but we got separated."

All the relief I had felt when I found my brother immediately vanished. George was missing - where was he? Is he okay?

"What direction were you going in?" I asked Charlie.

"That way," he pointed. "But don't even think about - EMILY NO!"

It was too late though, I was already sprinting through the crowd, knocking over some people that were in my path. I searched frantically for George through the crowd. I pushed some more people out of my way and ran quickly, spinning my head in every direction.

"GEORGE!" I screamed out hoping I would hear him call back.

I continued to call his name as I pushed further into the crowd. The people that were running in the opposite direction didn't even give me a second look, they were only focused on getting out. I guess I should be focusing on saving myself, but George was more important to me.

When the crowd started to thin out, I really started to panic. Could he be dead? Did he go searching to far and run into the hooded people? I felt my throat start to tighten as I weaved through some more people. I started to lose my vision as my eyes began to fill up with tears.

"George!" I started to yell out in a strangled voice.

I stopped for a moment and looked myself, people were pushing me aside as they continued to run around me. A few tears escaped my eyes as I started to move again. Then I saw a flash of red hair.

"EMILY!" George yelled out to me in a strangled voice.

He ran towards me and I ran towards him. People ran around us as he pulled me towards him in a short, tight embrace.

"We need to get out of here now!" George yelled.

He grabbed my hand and we ran quickly along with the crowd. On our way back, I noticed something floating in the sky. It was green and glittering, but I knew that it couldn't be anything good. It took us a good while, but we finally made it back to the tent. Mr. Weasley and Fred were the only ones there.

"Oh, thank god," Mr. Weasley sighed with relief when he saw us. "We need to get out of here - the others are waiting for us in the forest."

Together we all ran into the forest to meet up with everyone else. When we finally caught up to them, I was confused to see several people surrounding Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I held on tightly to George's hand when they all turned to look at us.

"What's going on?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"They're accusing us of conjuring the Dark Mark," Ron said angrily.

"What-?" Mr. Weasley started.

"Maybe it wasn't them," Mr. Crouch said eyeing me suspiciously. "Maybe it was you girl - where were you just now?"

"Are you mad?" Mr. Weasley shouted. "Are you honestly accusing Emily Potter of conjuring the Dark Mark?"

"Well someone had to do it!" Mr. Crouch yelled angrily. "These three were discovered at the scene of the crime and those two weren't in sight-"

"George," I whispered. "What is the Dark Mark?"

"It's You-Know-Who's Mark..." he whispered back. "It was used to show that he had killed someone - scares a lot of people."

Then we all turned towards the bushes to see Mr. Diggory dragging along a familiar looking elf. It was Winky - the elf that Harry had mistaken for Dobby during the Quidditch game.

"What are you doing with my elf?" Mr. Crouch demanded. "Why does she have a wand in her hand?"

"Hey - that's my wand!" Harry said suddenly. "I dropped it on the way over

here."

"What's she doing with Mr. Potter's wand?" Mr. Crouch asked.

"You tell me," Mr. Diggory said. "She was found a the scene of the crime with

this wand in hand."

"Are you suggesting that Winky created the Dark Mark, Amos?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"That's not possible - it was a man's voice we heard," Hermione spoke up. "It

couldn't have been Winky."

"Then what are you doing with that wand elf?" Mr. Diggory asked rudely.

"I found it in the forest," Winky squeaked.

Then Mr. Diggory quickly snatched the wand from the elf's hand and muttered an incantation. A shadow of the Dark Mark appeared in the sky for a moment before the smoke disappeared once more.

"Thought you would conjure the Dark Mark while you had it, did you?" he accused. "You cannot deny that this wand was the one that produced it!"

"How would a house-elf know how to produce the Dark Mark?" I spoke up. "There's no way Winky could have known how to do that?"

"Exactly what I was going to ask Miss Potter," Mr. Crouch eyed Mr. Diggory. "Are you suggesting that I teach my servants about the Dark Arts Amos?"

"No - not at all," Mr. Diggory said quickly. "I just-"

"If you don't mind," Mr Crouch said angrily. "I have to speak with my elf."

Everyone fell silent and turned to Winky who looked mortified at what was happening. I didn't have a doubt in my mind that it wasn't her. She just couldn't have done it.

"Winky, your behavior tonight is inexcusable," he said without emotion. "And for not listening to my orders, I release you. I have no need for an elf that disobeys my orders."

Winky began to sob horribly. She fell to the ground and covered her face that now began to leak with tears that were pouring from her eyes. It was pathetic to watched.

"Come on..." Mr. Weasley said to us. "Let's go back to the camp..."

Together we walked into the camp that was now almost vacant. Almost everyone had attempted to evacuate as soon as they discovered that the hooded figures were terrorizing the grounds. When we arrived at our tents, we all found the rest of the family there (other than Mrs. Weasley and Ginny who had already Disapparated). When we stepped into the tent, Charlie stood up and looked at us all.

"Did you catch them?" he asked. "The ones that made the Dark Mark."

"No, they escaped before we made it to them," Mr. Weasley explained.

As he retold everyone what happened, I sat down on the couch alongside Fred and George who looked tired and worn out. George placed his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. I laid my head on him and took his other hand in mine.

"Try not to wander off anymore..." he whispered to me. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I didn't ask you to go looking for me..." I whispered. "You could have gotten yourself killed..."

"As long as you were okay it wouldn't matter to me," he said quietly.

"I don't think I'm worth all that," I whispered.

"You're worth it to me..."

I looked up at him with a smile. Did that mean that he liked me...maybe even loved me? I wasn't sure, so I looked around at everyone else for a moment. When I looked back towards him, he had his eyes closed and looked at peace.

"George," I whispered to him.

He opened his eyes and looked me in the eye. I leaned towards him and kissed him without hesitation. It wasn't a long kiss, just a few seconds. When I moved back to where I was before, I noticed that he was in complete shock, but snapped out of it after a second. I glanced up at him after a second and saw him smiling down at me.

I looked back around at everyone else and knew that they hadn't been paying any attention to us - well, all except for Fred who gave me a wink and a smile before looking back towards everyone else.

Once they had finished their conversation about what had happened earlier, we all decided that it would be best to get some sleep before we went back home. Hermione and I stayed on the couches in the boys' tent so we wouldn't be seperated from everyone else. It took me a while, but I finally managed to fall asleep to the sound of Charlie snoring in a nearby room.

...

**Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it. This chapter would have come out sooner, but my computer decided not to save the file and I had to write the entire thing over again. Sorry about any spelling or grammar errors - I have spell check on my computer and it usually messes everything up and makes me look even dumber. :(**

**PLEASE REVIEW and don't forget to VOTE!**


	7. Mind Your Business Hermione

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 7**

The next morning we all woke up and packed up in silence. The entire campground was virtually silent aside from some murmurs that we could all hear throughout. The panic from the night before hadn't just faded away.

Once the tents were packed, we all moved together towards the station with the Portkeys. On the way there I noticed the odd, zombie like state that everyone was in. They were all tired and paranoid as if they were waiting for another attack. As we passed by a particularly large group of people, I noticed the looks that people were giving. They were seriously terrified of any and everyone. I looked beside me at George who looked paler than usual and took his hand in mine as we continued to walk towards the station.

When we made it there, the man there just handed us an old tire that spun us back to the hill that we had left the Burrow from. We made it back to the house just as the sun was rising over the hill.

"Oh thank goodness!" Mrs. Weasley said as she came running up to us.

She threw her arms around her husband and then proceeded to do the same for each of her sons. When she got around to Fred and George, I couldn't help but think tha she was going to suffocate them with her hug.

"I'm so sorry for yelling at you two," she said to them. "It doesn't matter to me how many OWLs you all get, I shouldn't have-"

"Mum, it's fine!" Fred mumbled as he tried to escape his mother's grasp.

"Let's go inside Molly dear..." Mr. Weasley said with a yawn.

Once we were all in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley began to make us our breakfast as everyone else spoke about the incident last night. The Daily Prophet had released an article all about it and even mentioned Mr. Weasley briefly (not by name though).

"I swear that Rita Skeeter has it in for the Ministry," Percy said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Why just the other day-"

"No one cares Percy..." Bill yawned.

"I was just saying that-" Percy started irritably.

Suddenly I saw a flash of black and noticed that it was Hoot who had just flown in through the window. There was a note tied to the end of his foot. I grabbed for it and immediately took note of the scrawl that was written before me. It appeared that he had rushed in writing this letter.

_Emily-_

_I heard about what happened at the World Cup - are you all right? Did anyone get hurt? Reply as soon as possible or I will come personally to the Burrow to make sure._

_Love,_

_Severus_

I couldn't half blame him for freaking out, I don't know why I didn't think to send him a letter the night before (maybe because Hoot wasn't with me). I looked around for a spare bit of parchment to write a quick answer down and found a piece on a side table.

_Severus-_

_We are all fine, don't worry. We're back at the Burrow now._

_Love,_

_Emily_

I handed the note off to Hoot who stopped only to grab a bit of food and was off. I looked over at Harry and he just gave me a simple nod - he knew that I was still talking to Snape, but I guess he had come to some kind of terms with it.

"Mrs. Weasley, have you seen Hedwig?" Harry asked suddenly.

"I don't believe that I have," she said to him.

Harry looked down at the ground and I knew instantly what was bothering him. Sirius hadn't been able to write recently. I could imagine that he either hadn't heard about the incident at the game or was doing his best to keep hidden in case people began to point fingers in his direction to blame him for what had happened.

Knowing that this was bothering Harry, I made a motion for us all to go into the other room so we could talk. Together Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I walked to Ron's room up the stairs. Once we got where no one else could hear us, I turned to Harry.

"He hasn't written back, has he?" I asked.

"No," Harry said shortly.

"Are you talking about Sirius?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," I said. "Harry wrote to him the other night about our scars hurting-"

"WHAT?" Hermione and Ron yelled together.

"It was just a dream," Harry said.

"Why didn't you tell us-" Ron started.

"You need to tell Dumbledore immediately-"

"He already knows," I said simply.

This comment received looks from all three of them. That's when I remembered that I hadn't even told Harry about that yet.

"How does he already know?" Harry asked. "Did you write him?"

"No, but I mentioned it to Sev-Snape and he told me that he would be writing to Dumbledore about it," I told him.

"So what does Sirius have to do with all of this?" Ron asked.

"I wrote to him about it - you know, before I knew about Snape communicating with my sister," Harry said.

"Wow, way to talk about me like I'm not standing right here," I muttered.

Ron let out a laugh and I noticed that Hermione went to smile, but stopped herself when she started talking again.

"Well, I'm sure that it'll come in soon," she said. "Think about it - Sirius could be anywhere in the world at this point."

Harry nodded, but I could tell that this was still bothering him. Over the summer, Harry and Sirius had grown to be very close. Don't get me wrong, I'm still close to Sirius too, but it's a little different because they have a lot more in common.

"You want to go play some Quidditch?" Ron asked. "We can play out back."

"Sure," Harry nodded.

Just after grabbing the Firebolt, the two boys left the room without another word. You would think that he wouldn't be in the mood to play Quidditch with everything that is on his mind about Sirius and whatnot, but I guess that it was just something that boys did.

I was about to walk back into the kitchen to see if Mrs. Weasley needed any of my help, but instead I had Hermione dragging me forcefully into Ginny's room where we could talk privately - Ginny had decided to play Quidditch with the boys.

"What is it?" I laughed as she shut the door.

"Oh...nothing really..." she said casually.

"So I was dragged in this room for nothing?" I said.

"I just wanted to talk..." she said as she sat onto the floor. "So...how are you in George?"

It was silent in the room for only a moment before I stood up to walk out of the room.

"I'm really not talking about that right now," I said.

"Fine - no, don't leave - I'm sorry," she practically begged.

I rolled my eyes and plopped down on a nearby chair where Hermione just looked at me curiously. It was my own personal belief that Hermione was more interested in my romantic life than I was myself. So, I decided to turn the tables.

"So how are you and Ron?" I asked casually.

"W-what are you talking about?" she stammered and her face began to go slightly pink.

"You. Ron. How are you two doing?" I asked with an innocent smile.

"I d-don't know what your talking about," she said. "So, Vector Krum - do you fancy him?"

"Don't change the subject," I laughed. "I asked you a question."

"But-"

"Hermione, I'm not as dumb as I look. I know that you and Ron have a thing - you aren't fooling me at all."

She let out a sigh and looked at the ground.

"Well...maybe...I don't think that Ron sees me like that though-"

"Honestly Hermione, he really does."

"How do you know that? Did he say something about me?"

"He doesn't have to," I laughed. "It might as well be written across his forehead - it's really obvious."

"Then why doesn't he-?"

"Because he's scared, he thinks that you don't like him like that."

Hermione nodded slowly and went to say something else just as someone burst through the door. I looked up and noticed Fred and George standing at the door. They both had a questioning look on their faces.

"Ever heard of knocking?" I asked. "We could have been changing our clothes."

"All the more reason to barge in," Fred winked. "Why aren't you two out there with us?"

"Because-" Hermione started.

"No excuses," George said. "You two are going to play Quidditch with us and you're going to like it."

"Okay bossy," I said.

"You know you like it," George winked.

"You caught me," I laughed.

In the end, we both ended up in the backyard with everyone else. Neither of us were really experts on the concept of the game, but I felt that I picked it up fairly fast. Flying on a broom wasn't difficult at all surprisingly and it was easy enough to learn the rules. I played on a team with Harry, Ron, George, and Ginny and the other team had Fred, Hermione, Bill, and Charlie. We didn't exactly have enough players, but it worked out just fine. I was considered one of the Chasers and I even managed to make a few goals.

"You know, you weren't half bad," Harry said to me at the end of the game as we walked back into the house.

"Thanks a lot," I laughed.

"No, I'm serious," he said. "You should try out for the team."

"You're hilarious," I laughed.

"You really should," George said behind me. "You're a really good flier and you seem to understand the rules - with some practice you could become the second best player on the team."

"The second?" I asked.

"Well it's obvious that no one can compare to my amazing skill," he said nonchalantly.

"Don't make me laugh," Fred said as he passed by us.

* * *

><p>Weeks went by at the Burrow and the time finally came around for us to finally start packing to catch the Hogwarts Express the following morning. I went into Harry and Ron's room to ask Harry if he had seen my scarf to find Ron holding up a rather moldy looking dress that had frills all over it.<p>

"That's going to go lovely with our eyes," I said.

Harry busted out laughing when he turned to see what Ron was holding up. Ron went completely red and threw the dress to the side and walked over to the door.

"Mum, I think you packed Ginny's dress with my things," he called.

"Are you sure it isn't your dress?" Fred asked as he poked his head around the doorframe.

"Shut it," Ron snapped. "Mum!"

"That's not Ginny's dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she came around the hallway. "Those are your dress robes."

"Dress robes?" Ron asked. "For what?"

"It was on your list this year," she insisted. "Everyone has to wear them for...a formal occasion. I went and got some for Harry too. Emily dear, I hope you don't mind that I didn't get any for you - I thought that you might want to pick out a dress of your own."

"That's fine Mrs. Weasley," I told her. "They sell them at Hogsmeade, don't they?" **(Author's Note: I do realize that there really isn't a shop that sells dresses at Hogsmeade - I made it up)**

"I believe they do," she said. "Perhaps you and Hermione could go together."

I looked over and noticed Harry pulling out his dress robes. His were not at all girly, in fact, they looked similar to the school robes, but they were a bottle green instead.

"Why couldn't I get some like those?" Ron complained. "Those look nice."

"Well, we had to buy ours secondhand..." Mrs. Weasley said looking at the ground.

The Weasleys had never had much money to their name and I knew that this shamed Mrs. Weasley greatly because she couldn't afford the finest for her children. I didn't think I mattered though - some things are more important than money, for instance, the love and kindness that the Weasleys always had.

"I think that they are really nice Mrs. Weasley," I said. "Ron should be very grateful that you bought them for him."

"Why thank you Emily," Mrs. Weasley smiled at me.

Ron went red in the face and just shoved his dress robes into his trunk without another word. For the remainder of the night, we all packed the rest of our stuff and made sure to double-check everything to make sure that we didn't forget anything.

* * *

><p><strong>I'M REALLY SORRY THAT THIS CHAPTER KEPT MESSING UP!<strong>

**Thanks for reading - I know that it wasn't much. The next chapter should be longer because that is when they are going to be off to Hogwarts! Sorry that I haven't posted in a while - I've been insanely busy with school work and some things that are happening at my house. Hope that you can forgive me!**

**By the way, I decided to make a Tumblr page (I know that you aren't supposed to advertise this, but it's made specifically for my fanfiction and such, so whatever). If you already have an account on there, I hope that you'll follow me - if not, you can check there for any updates or additional information (such as polls and questions that I might ask you all) Here's the link: **.com/


	8. Oh, How I've Missed Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 8**

When I walked down into the kitchen the next morning for breakfast, I noticed that someone else was in the room talking to Mr. Weasley. It was Amos Diggory - Cedric's father. I only caught the last bit of the conversation, so I wasn't really sure what was going on.

"Sorry for bothering you all so early Molly," Mr. Diggory said. "Arthur, you're the only one that can reason with Mad-Eye anyway."

"It's weird that it happened last night of all times," Mr. Weasley said. "You know, with him starting his new job today."

I sat down at the table with everyone else and I could tell that they were all as tired as I was. Fred was just staring blankly at his plate of eggs and looking as though he was going to fall asleep on his food.

"What happened?" I asked Harry as Mr. Diggory was getting ready to leave.

"Apparently someone broke into this guy Mad-Eye's house," he said looking as though he was unsure of what exactly was going on himself.

"Who is Mad-Eye?" I asked.

"Mad-Eye Moody is a total lunatic," George said. "Complete nuts-"

"Is someone talking about Mad-Eye?" Bill asked as he entered the kitchen. "What's he up to now?"

"He claims that someone broke into his house last night," Mr. Weasley said as he pulled on a coat and stepped towards the fireplace to grab some floo powder. "I'd better be off - you all have a good term."

"Bye Mr. Weasley," I called as he went through the fireplace and to what I assumed to be the Ministry of Magic.

The morning rush flew by quickly and before we knew it, we were standing in front of the big steam engine that is the Hogwarts Express. I looked forward to seeing this train every year since I was eleven - it brought Harry and me into a world where we belonged.

Charlie and Bill had decided to come along with us just for old times sake - they hadn't been to the Platform in years as they had told us. They didn't get to see the train for very long though, because we were late as usual and had to hurry to make it onto the train. We quickly told the Weasleys goodbye before we jumped onto the train. As we walked through the aisle to find a compartment, I could hear Fred and George talking about something that Charlie had said to them before we left.

"What did he mean that he would see us again?" Fred asked.

"Maybe he's going to break into the school," George said with a grin. "I hope he brings in a couple dragons."

"Honesty…" Hermione sighed while rolling her eyes at the boys.

"Seriously though," I said. "Why did they keep saying that we would have an interesting year?"

"I don't know," Harry said as we continued to walk. "Maybe it has something to do with the new teacher."

"I doubt that," Ron said. "It has to be something related to those awful dress robes though. Why do we _need_ to bring them. I absolutely refuse to wear them."

Fred and George veered off to join a compartment with Lee Jordan in it and shortly afterwards, we found an empty compartment towards the back of the train. We sat there for a while talking about everything that came to mind. After a good while though, the entire subject turned to Quidditch, something that Hermione became instantly bored with. Quidditch to me wasn't a boring sport, but it wasn't something that I could talk about all day. Just when I was about to pull out my Potions book, Neville Longbottom came into our compartment and sat down next to me.

"You all got to go to the World Cup?" he asked me.

"Yeah, the game was fantastic," I said. "Why couldn't you go?"

"Gran didn't want to go and she refused to buy me tickets," he sighed.

"That's a shame," I said. "You could have gone along with us."

It wasn't long before Harry and Ron started giving Neville a complete description of all the highlights of the game. Ron seemed to take over for most of it as he animatedly retold the part where Krum nose dived towards the ground to trick Lynch.

"I heard that he's an amazing player," Neville said. "I wish I could have seen it."

"He is fantastic!" Ron said with a huge smile on his face. "I wish I could have met him - we got to meet his brother though. He really fancied Emily."

"He did not," I said in defense. "He was just being kind."

"Please," Harry laughed. "He was practically ogling at you."

"No he was not," I said. "Vector was not-"

"His name is Vector?" Neville cut in. "You would think that his parents could have come up with a more creative name."

"That is _not_ a bad name," I said.

Then the compartment door opened again and Fred and George came in.

"What isn't a bad name?" Fred asked.

"_Vector_ Krum," Neville said.

"What are you talking about that ape for?" George asked.

"Ape?" I asked.

"The boy was an idiot," George said. "You could tell that by just looking at his dopy face."

"The boy?" I asked. "George, he's older than you are."

"Whatever…" George mumbled.

Not all that long later, the train finally stopped and everyone started to walk towards the castle. It was pouring rain outside, so everyone was moving quickly towards their destination. The first years went across the lake as usual with Hagrid while the rest of us filled up the horseless carriages that led us to the school. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and I all piled into the one cart and soon enough we were all heading towards Hogwarts.

Lightening flashed just as we stepped out of the carriage and walked quickly towards the doors to try to get out of the rain. We were practically soaking wet when we stepped through the doors.

"If that rain keeps up the lake is going to overflow-AAHHH!" Ron yelled as a huge red flash dropped onto him.

It took me a moment to realize that it had been a giant, red water balloon that Peeves, who was now laughing hysterically at Ron, had dropped right onto Ron's head. Peeves spun around the ceiling, so happy that he had managed to have a successful prank on a student just as they had arrived.

"Good one Peeves," I laughed.

Peeves flew over and gave me a high five and stuck his tongue out at Ron. Ron, hearing my comment, threw me a look that could have killed.

"Since when are you on good terms with _Peeves_," he snarled the name.

"Since now apparently," I said with a shrug.

Peeves went to make another water balloon just as Professor McGonagall came storming into the room looking as stern as always. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that she had come to tell off Peeves.

"PEEVES!" she yelled. "Get out of here _right now_ or I'm calling the headmaster!"

"Fine, be that way," Peeves said and flew around in some more circles before zooming off. "WEEEEEEEEEEE!"

He threw a few more water bombs at some people during his exit, but soon enough he was out of sight and out of mind. Once he was gone, we all went into the Great Hall. The Hall was already packed with students that were talking all about their summer break as they sat in front of their golden goblets and plates that were set out on the four House tables. Above our heads were floating candles that lit up the false-night sky that filled the ceiling of the room. It was odd to see the sky this way though, I had never actually seen it stormy before…

We sat down at our table in the usual spots that we sat in and looked towards the front of the room where the Sorting Hat sat in preparation for the first years that had yet to be sorted. I was actually a little excited to see the sorting because I hadn't actually gotten the chance to see a single sorting since the one that included all the people of our year.

"Who's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" Hermione asked as she scanned through the teacher's table that sat in the front of the room.

"Maybe…maybe they got caught up in something," I said.

Every year since Harry and I had been here the position for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has always been a different person every year. I secretly hoped that the one we had this year wouldn't be some crazed lunatic or someone that worked for Voldemort…or both…

I scanned the teacher's table and immediately caught the eye of the familiar Severus Snape. He sat next to Professor Sinistra and an empty chair that I assumed was Professor McGonagall's chair. Snape gave me a simple nod in recognition and I nodded back.

"I wish they would hurry it up," Ron complained. "I'm starving…"

As if on cue, the door burst open to reveal Professor McGonagall leading a pack of first years through the center aisle of the tables towards the Sorting Hat. Once they made it to the front of the room, they all stopped abruptly behind Professor McGonagall, all looking nervously down at the hat on the stool. I could only imagine what they were feeling right now. It didn't feel all that long ago that Harry and I stood in that very spot wondering which house we would be put in.

Everyone in the room went silent as the Sorting Hat burst into song, the first years looked shocked and scared at the same time. However, they were all completely mesmerized by the wizard's hat. It took me only a moment to realize that the song was entirely different from the one that we had heard before our sorting.

Once the song was finished, everyone began to clap as Professor McGonagall pulled out a scroll of parchment and began to read off the names. It wasn't all that exciting to listen to all the names being called out because it became very tedious, not to mention the fact that we had to listen to Ron's complaining about being hungry the entire time. Finally, the last name was called out and the food magically appeared on all the golden plates.

"Finally!" Ron said as he dug into the chicken and mashed potatoes.

"Honestly Ron," I laughed. "You are such a pig."

"You're lucky we aren't all like that," Fred said as he watched Ron inhale a piece of chicken.

"Yeah," George nodded. "We have class."

He then took that opportunity to shove a turkey leg into his mouth and rip off some meat with his teeth and then he proceeded to shove a spoonful of sweet potatoes into his mouth at the same time.

"Ew," Hermione said in disgust.

"That's attractive," I laughed.

Then the groan of Nearly Headless Nick stopped all the laughing at our table.

"You all could have some decency," he said. "It took a lot of effort to make this food - Peeves nearly made it so that you all wouldn't even have this feast."

"What did he do?" I asked.

"He just flew around the kitchen," he sighed. "You know, creating complete chaos - the usual. He nearly scared the house-elves half to death."

Suddenly Hermione's utensils fell onto the table with a clang.

"What?" she said. "Did you just say that there are house-elves in Hogwarts?"

"Of course there are," Nearly Headless Nick said. "We have the largest number them in all of Britain here."

"You _can't_ be serious!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Oh here we go…" I mumbled.

She went on ranting and raving about how slave labor had created the food that we were eating. For the remainder of the feast, she refused to eat anything at all. She wouldn't even look at any of us for not joining her. Finally, the feast came to an end as Dumbledore stood up from his chair and addressed the Great Hall.

"Now that all of our bellies are filled, I believe it is time to make a few announcements!" Dumbledore said with a smile on his face. "Mr. Filch, as usual, has posted a list of objects that are banned from the corridors in his office. Some of you all-" he smiled over to Fred and George "-might be wise as to take a look at this list. Also, the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students and no one under third year is permitted to enter Hogsmeade. It is also my duty to inform you all that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"What?" Harry said immediately.

There were also several murmurs throughout the room and many people looked completely and utterly confused. Why wasn't there going to be Quidditch?

"Just when you were going to try out too…" George nudged my shoulder. "I wonder what's going on."

"It better be good…" I muttered.

Dumbledore silenced everyone once again so that he could begin explaining.

"This is because, I am proud to announce, that Hogwarts will be hosting the-"

Suddenly the doors of the Great Hall burst open and a loud crack of thunder sounded off. Everyone jumped and looked at the doors. Standing there was a man that looked terrifying. His face looked as though it had been badly carved out of wood and a chunk of his nose was missing. One of the most noticeable things about his face was the electric blue false eye that was swiveling frantically around his eye socket. Everyone remained silent as the man limped through the aisle, a thud could be heard with every step that he took.

"May I introduce you all to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore smiled. "Professor Alastor Moody."

Not a single person dared to clap for this strange looking man. But then I realized something - the name that was said sounded oddly familiar.

"Wait, is that Mad-Eye Moody?" I asked George. "The one that everyone was talking about his morning."

"The very same," he said, his eyes still transfixed on Moody.

Once he had taken his seat, everyone turned their attention back to Professor Dumbledore.

"As I was saying," he smiled. "This year, Hogwarts, I am proud to say, will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament!"

…

**Thanks for reading! I'm sorry about the mix up with the last chapter, I'm not really sure what was going on there. I hope that this chapter doesn't do the same. Anyways, I hope that you liked it - not all that much happened, but I promise there will be more in the next chapter. Tell me what you think and don't forget to vote - the end of the poll is drawing near!**


	9. Why Would You Help Them?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

**Chapter 9**

There was a complete silence that filled the Great Hall - everyone was either in shock or had absolutely no idea what Dumbledore was talking about. I fell in the latter category.

"Are you joking?" Fred asked loudly to break the silence.

Several people laughed, including myself, at Fred's abruptness.

"No, Mr. Weasley, I am not joking," Dumbledore smiled down towards Fred. "Now, some of you may already know what this tournament is, but for those of you who do not already know, I will give a short explanation on what it is. The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities -until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued." **(Author's note: I did copy this directly from the book - all rights go to J.K. Rowling)**

Everyone whispered excitedly around the room. I couldn't believe that I'd never actually heard of this before. Then again, it had been stopped years ago.

"On Halloween, we will have an impartial judge here to decide the three champions of the tournament," Dumbledore announced over the murmur of the crowd. "The winner of the tasks will receive a prize of one thousand Galleons."

With this, everyone's faces began to glow - everyone wanted to compete. However, I was a little skeptical of it because they did mention that the tournament had originally been cancelled because of the death toll. I wonder why they decided to bring it back with such risks.

"We have to compete," George said to Fred.

"Why would you _want_ to compete?" I asked him. "You could die!"

"We could also win a thousand Galleons!" Fred said happily. "Imagine what we could do with that money!"

"You're mother would never allow it," Hermione said.

"What Mum doesn't know won't hurt her," George said.

"And what if you died?" I asked them worriedly. "That's a huge risk to take-"

"Stop worrying so much," Fred said. "You're turning into Mum."

I crossed my arms and turned the other direction. They weren't going to listen to anything that I said, so there really wasn't any point in trying to reason with them. They are idiots…

"Now, before you all get too excited," Dumbledore said. "The Ministry of Magic, under extreme precautions, has decided to restrict anyone under the age of seventeen from entering the tournament-"

"WHAT?" Fred and George yelled together.

Everyone in the Great Hall was under the same mindset of Fred and George - they were all outraged. I could actually see the sense in this rule, but I was one of the very few.

"Do not try to waste your time trying to submit your names if you are underage - I assure you that it is a complete waste of time," Dumbledore said paying strict attention to the Weasley twins. "That will be all - everyone off to bed!"

The entire way up to the tower, Fred and George were trying to find out ways that they could trick this judge that was going to be there. They were completely set on the fact that they could use a simple Aging Potion to trick them.

"Emily, you could make it, couldn't you?" George asked. "You are the best potion maker in the school."

"Flattering, but I can assure you that the teachers are a lot better than I am," I said.

"Will you do it?" George asked.

"Fine, but I'm not getting blamed for this," I laughed.

"Emily!"

I turned to see Hermione staring at me angrily, her arms crossed and a look of pure disappointment and anger on her face.

"What?" I asked her innocently.

"You're _encouraging_ them!" she said. "I thought you knew that this tournament was dangerous - you even said that they shouldn't be doing this!"

"They shouldn't," I said. "But they're going to try to do it anyway - you know that as well as I do."

She stopped walking and pulled me off to the side and let everyone walk by. When we were alone, she started talking again.

"What if they do get in," Hermione said. "They could die Emily, you said so yourself. Could you live with yourself if they did."

I narrowed my eyes and started on her.

"Do you honestly expect this to work?" I said angrily. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one Hermione."

She went red in the face as I continued.

"Think about it," I said. "Do you really think that a simple Aging Potion is going to do the trick? Do you honestly believe that Dumbledore hasn't thought that through?"

"So why bother helping them?" Hermione asked.

"Because if they make the potion themselves, they could mess it up," I said. "I don't want them to get poisoned or anything."

* * *

><p>I woke up early the next morning, unreasonably excited about the first day back to our classes. When I went down to the Great Hall, few people were even awake. I hadn't even seen Harry yet today, no doubt that he was still dreaming about entering the Triwizard Tournament as just about everyone in the castle was. I sat down at the table next to Neville and grabbed a piece of toast.<p>

"Morning Neville," I smiled at him.

"Morning," he smiled back. "Have you gotten your schedule yet?"

"Yes," I said pulling out the schedule. "I have…Herbology first, then Care of Magical Creatures, and, ugh, double Divination. That's going to be terrible. What do you have?"

"The same," he frowned. "You're still going to be my partner in Divination, right?"

"As long as you help me in Herbology," I said. "So, what do you think about this Tournament? You're not going to try to get in anyway, are you?"

He frowned and glanced around the room for a moment before answering me.

"I wouldn't really have any chance at winning even if I did make it into the Tournament," he said. "I know that Gran probably would want me to try though…"

"Don't," I said. "It's too dangerous anyway. I can't believe that people are volunteering for this…"

"I reckon Fred and George have a decent shot at getting in anyway," Neville said. "They're almost seventeen anyway and I heard that you'll be making the Aging Potion for them, so they'll definitely get through."

"No, they really won't," I laughed. "An Aging Potion isn't going to trick the system. It's too simple, I know that they've already prepared for something like this."

"That's true," he said thoughtfully. "I wonder what'll happen to them when they're caught."

I shrugged my shoulders as Harry, Ron, and Hermione came into the room. Soon afterwards, the entire school was sitting in the Great Hall for breakfast talking about their schedules.

"At least we don't have Potions," Ron said as he shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth.

"I kind of wish that we had Defense Against the Dark Arts though," Harry said.

"Yeah," I said. "I can imagine that Mad-Eye is going to be an interesting teacher to say the least."

After we were all finished eating, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and I all made our way down to the greenhouses for our first lesson of the term. When we got there, I saw some of the ugliest plants sitting around the greenhouse. They looked like huge, black slugs that were coming out of the soil.

"What are those?" I asked.

"They are Bubotubers, Miss Potter," Professor Sprout smiled happily at the ugly plants. "And they need squeezing. Today, you all will be collecting the puss from them-"

"The what?" Seamus asked.

"The puss," Professor Sprout repeated. "The puss is a very useful and valuable, so be careful with it. There are some bottles over there" - she pointed to a nearby closet - "you will fill as many bottles of you can with the puss. You may begin!"

I walked over to grab a few bottles and some gloves and went to work. Getting the puss out of these plants was seriously disgusting, but it was a little interesting.

"Neville, do you know what these are for?" I asked him as I stopped up one of my bottles and moved to the next one.

"Yes, I read about them in a book that my Gran got for me over the summer," he said happily as he squeezed the puss out of a bubotuber. "They're supposed to be really good for acne."

"You're supposed to put this on your face," I said with a grimace as I looked down at the yellowish-green goo in the bottle.

"It's better than cursing them off," Neville said with a smile. "Eloise Midgen tried that and just about blasted off her nose."

At the end of the class, we all bottled up everything we had collected and headed out to our next class. When we made it to Hagrid's hut, I noticed a pile of crates that sat in his yard. I was almost afraid to ask what was inside of them.

"Hey Hagrid," I said as we finally reached the hut.

"Mornin'," Hagrid smiled. "Just waitin' fer the Slytherins ter arrive, they won' want ter miss this - ther Blast-Ended Shrewts!""What?" Ron asked nervously.

Hagrid opened up the crates to reveal some of weirdest looking creatures that I had ever seen. They looked a bit like deformed lobsters, but they had a bunch of legs randomly sticking out of their sides. They also smelled similar to rotting fish. This was going to be bad.

Once the Slytherins arrived at the hut, Hagrid went to explaining what we would be doing with these odd creatures.

"We have to raise them?" Draco Malfoy asked. "Why would we want to do that?"

"Yer just gonna be feedin' 'em today," Hagrid said. "I'm not really sure what they eat, so yer just gonna 'ave to try a few things out."

Through the lesson, we attempted to feed them all different kinds of nasty food that I didn't want to touch, but I only did so we wouldn't upset Hagrid. One of the more important things that we learned is that they could make their ends explode when they felt like they were in danger and that they could also sting you and suck your blood. Only Hagrid could find an animal like that. Finally, the end of the lesson came to a close and we were off to the Great Hall for lunch.

"Those animals are insane," Ron said as he rubbed a burn on his arm. "I don't see why Hagrid would want them."

"Because he's Hagrid," I said simply. "That's who he is."

When we sat down to eat, I noticed how fast Hermione was eating her food. It was almost sickening.

"The food isn't going to disappear Hermione," I said.

"Is this a new stand on elf rights?" Ron asked.

"No," Hermione snapped. "I just need to get to the library."

"Hermione, it's the first day," Harry said. "Why do you need to go to the library already?"

She rolled her eyes and ran off towards the library. Not all that long later, we were off towards the North Tower to the Divination room - the one class that I shouldn't have continued. Once we climbed up the ladder into the dark, smoke filled room, I sat down at my table next to Neville just as Professor Trelawney entered the room.

"Welcome everyone," she said in a misty voice. "Today we will observe the stars…"

I didn't listen to anything else she was saying and I just stared off and let my mind wander. Then I felt someone nudge my arm and I looked down at the table to see a note written from Neville.

_2 Sickles that she predicts your death by the end of the period._

I smiled and pulled out my quill to write something back without her noticing.

_You're on._

I passed the letter back and looked casually forward. I had a lot of trouble paying attention to her though, but I was sure that she would make it into a huge scene when she said that I was going to die - that or Harry was going to die. Neville and I had taken to playing tick-tack-toe just before she told us our assignment. We had to fill out a circular chart of the planets exact location at the moment of our birth. It was easier because Neville was only a day older than me, so we were able to help each other quite a bit. Unfortunately, we had practically no idea what we were doing.

"Let's see what we have here," Professor Trelawney said while taking a look at my map.

"You seem to have all the planets in the correct position, but Neptune is a bit off," she said.

"So, it should be right here, correct?" I said.

"Oh my…" she said while widening her eyes.

"What?" Neville asked eagerly, no doubt he was thinking of the bet.

"Nothing," she whispered. "It just seems as though, judging by the way the planets are lined up, that an extreme tragedy is before us."

"You're joking," I said while narrowing my eyes.

"Miss Potter, I beg that you will take my warning," she said in a pleading manner. "You and your brother are in grave danger! Make sure to watch after yourselves!"

Neville gave me a small grin as she walked away and held out his hand.

"She never said I was going to die though," I said.

"She said you are in grave danger - we all know that means death," he said with a shrug of the shoulder.

"Fine," I said, rolling my eyes and pulling out a couple of Sickles.

"Thank you," Neville said happily.

Finally, the class came to an end and we were given a ton of homework. We told to create a detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming month will affect us, with reference to our personal chart. In other words, I was going to write that the month was going to prepare me for my death. We met up with Hermione who was talking about how exciting her class was until we got to the Great Hall.

"Hey Weasley!"

We all stopped and turned to see Draco Malfoy coming towards us with a newspaper in hand. I don't know what he wanted, but I knew that it couldn't be good.

"Your dad's in the paper," he said with a laugh as Crabbe and Goyle walked over to join him. "Listen to this:

_FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC_

_It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office._

_Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ("policemen") over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene."_

Ron's eyes were narrowed in Draco's direction and I knew that things were about to get ugly.

"Look, they even have a picture," Draco said with false happiness. "Is that your mother? She could do with losing a little weight, don't you think?"

"Shut up Malfoy," Harry said.

"I heard that you stayed with them this summer Potter," Malfoy said. "Is his mother really that fat, or was it just the picture."

At this point, we all had to hold back Ron from hitting Malfoy.

"I find it a little pathetic that you keep track of where we are Malfoy," Harry spat. "Is it because you are still in love with my sister?"

"Shut it Potter," Malfoy spat.

"By the way," Harry said. "I saw your mother at the World Cup. I was wondering, does she always look like she has got dung under her nose or is that just when she's with you."

"Don't you _dare_ talk about my mother!" Draco snarled.

"Then shut your mouth," Harry said.

We started to walk in another way, but we were stopped when we heard a huge BANG erupt behind us. Draco had thrown a spell and nearly hit Harry right in the side of the face. Harry went to get his wand when I heard someone yell.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Mad-Eye Moody said and another bang erupted.

Where Draco had just been standing sat a pure-white ferret that was scurrying around on the ground. Everyone in the hall went silent and stared at the terrified ferret. It went to run towards the dungeons when Moody yelled again.

"I don't think so!" he said pointing his wand at the animal.

The ferret flew into the air helplessly as Moody flung in around in the air for a moment.

"I cannot stand when someone attacks someone who has their back turned," Moody snarled. "Bloody coward."

Then he started smacking the ferret onto the stone floor as a panicked voice came from behind.

"Professor Moody!" McGonagall called. "What are you doing?"

She ran up next to him and stared at the ferret in horror.

"I'm teaching," Moody said simply.

"Is that a student?" she asked putting a hand to her mouth.

"Yes," Moody said without care.

McGonagall pulled out her wand and changed the ferret back to its original form. Draco Malfoy laid on the ground, a horrified expression on his face. He scurried up and ran off towards the dungeons, Crabbe and Goyle not far behind him.

"We _never_ use Transfiguration as a punishment!" McGonagall yelled at Moody. "We give detentions!"

Moody started mumbling some things before he walked off in the direction that Malfoy went just a moment ago. Once he was out of sight, the whole room began to talk amongst themselves.

"That was absurd!" Hermione complained. "I cannot believe that he just did that!"

"I think I'm going to like this teacher," Harry grinned.

"Ron, are you okay?" Hermione asked.

"Shhhh! I need to get that image to stay in my mind - Malfoy, the incredible bouncing ferret!"

We all laughed as we made our way up to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! I hope that you liked the chapter - tell me what you think about it. Remember to vote on the poll because time is running out.<strong>

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	10. The Mad in MadEye Moody

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 10**

The next few days seemed to fly right by. We had our first Potions lesson of the year and Neville had managed to melt six cauldrons all in one period. The only thing that kept Snape from killing him was the looks that I threw him every time he went off on Neville during class. However, he did manage to give him detention.

Thursday afternoon was the day that we were all looking forward to. We had heard countless stories of Professor Moody's classes and we had all become anxious to take the class ourselves. When the time came around, the fourth year Gryffindors were packed around the door well before the bell even rang after our lunch period to get into the Defense Against the Dark Arts room.

"Where is Hermione?" I asked Harry. "You would think that she would be here by now."

"She's probably in the library," Harry said. "She spends most of her time in there now."

"Now?" Ron laughed. "She's _always_ spent her time in there - this year isn't any different."

Just before everyone moved into the classroom, Hermione finally showed up with a stack of books that she was carrying in her arms. I had no doubt that it wasn't for homework at all. I had taken a notice to the types of books that she had been looking at and they all were related to house-elves in one way or another. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that she was researching everything that she could about their rights.

I went to sit in the front row with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but there wasn't enough room, so I went to sit next to Neville instead at the table behind theirs. We pulled out our books just as we heard a distinct clunking of Moody's footsteps entering the room. Everyone went silent and watched as the man angrily entered the room, eyeing us all like we were a group of criminals.

"Put those books away," he growled. "You won't be needing them."

Neville and I exchanged confused glances and Harry even looked back at me in confusion. I guess that Moody was more of a hands-on learning kind of teacher. I didn't really mind that actually, though I highly suspected that these lectures that Moody was going to be giving weren't going to be all that pleasant.

"Professor Lupin sent me a letter telling me that you all have already covered Dark Creatures," he said in a blunt, growling manner. "However, you all are extremely behind on curses. So, that's what I'm going to be teaching you all about this year."

Everyone looked around at each other, still not quite sure what we were supposed to be doing. Moody paused only for a moment, his one false eye spinning around in all directions.

"Now!" he said suddenly. "I've been informed that I am only to teach you about countercurses, nothing at all about the dark spells that could be thrown in your direction at any moment. You're not supposed to be old enough to be able to take on that kind of thing - but I disagree, so I'm going to do it my way. If a dark wizard goes to attack you, he isn't going to tell you what he's going to be doing - you must know!"

Everyone in the class was paying strict attention to him now. I had heard from the Weasleys that Moody was a very paranoid man, now I could definitely see that aspect of him. I could also see why they called him Mad-Eye…

"So, does anyone know of any curses that are punishable by law?" he asked everyone. "They are called Unforgivable Curses. Who knows one?"

It took a moment, but several people threw their hands in the air. Hermione, of course, being the first one to do so.

"Weasley!" Moody called on Ron. "Which one?"

"Um…my dad did tell me about the Imperius Curse," Ron said nervously.

"Oh yes, your father would know all about that," Moody nodded his head. "That one has given the Ministry a lot of trouble."

Ron breathed a sigh of relief that he had answered the question right, but that relief was extinguished almost instantly when Moody went over to his desk in the front of the room and pulled out three spiders from a jar. Moody pulled out his wand and pointed it threateningly at the first spider.

"Imperio!" he muttered.

The spider immediately jumped from the desk and around the room. It started to swing around, do cartwheels, and all different sorts of tricks that spiders wouldn't normally do. The class was laughing a little about the show that the spider was performing, but Moody didn't even crack a smile.

"Think that's funny?" he asked. "How would you like it if I did that to you?"

The laughing died away instantly and everyone went back to being serious and attentive.

"I have complete control over it," Moody growled. "I could make it do anything that I wanted. Perhaps, make it jump out of a window, drown itself, anything that I wanted. After You-Know-Who fell from power, many people claimed to be under the Imperius Curse to save themselves from getting in trouble - cowards if you ask me."

Moody looked around at all of us curiously, then he put the spider back into the jar and picked up the second one that was scurrying around his desk.

"The next one?" Moody asked the class.

Hermione's hand flew into the air as usual, however I was surprised to see Neville's hand in the air. It was only surprising because he never volunteered in any class other than Herbology. I wonder what compelled him to raise his hand this time.

"Longbottom, isn't it?" Moody asked with a faint smile.

Neville nodded slowly, but hesitated only a moment before he spoke.

"The Cruciatus Curse."

"That's right," Moody said in an undertone. "This spider is going to need to be a bit bigger for you all to properly see - Engorgio!"

The spider grew to the size of a tarantula and I could tell that Ron was regretting his seating choice when he backed his chair up a little bit. There was a hushed silence that fell over the class when Moody pointed his wand at the huge spider that sat on the table.

"Crucio!" Moody said evilly.

The spider immediately started to curl around itself as its legs began to move unnaturally around itself. It was twitching and rolling around unwillingly, obviously in a lot of pain. I glanced to the side only for a moment, when I saw someone even more tortured than the spider itself. Neville sat transfixed on the spider and his eyes had grown wide, he had gone deathly pale and he held on to the desk in front of him with such force that his knuckles had gone while.

"STOP!" I yelled, not taking my eyes off of Neville for a second.

Moody immediately stopped torturing the spider and looked up for only a moment. I glanced up for only a moment to make sure that the spider was no longer under the Cruciatus Curse and I saw a slight twitch of his mouth, almost as if he was forcing back a smile. Maybe this man was more insane than I had thought. I looked back at Neville, whose eyes were still wide.

"Pain," Moody said simply. "That's what the spell is used for - you don't need any other form of torture if you know that curse."

"Neville?" I whispered over to him worriedly.

His eyes remained transfixed on the spider as Moody dumped it back into the jar with the first spider. I grabbed his one had in attempt to make him release his grip on the table and he looked down at me, the horror of the moment before still etched upon his face. His eyes remained vacant and unfocused on his surroundings.

"Neville?" I repeated. "It's over - he's stopped."

Neville slowly came back to reality and started blinking rapidly, but he still looked like he was in some kind of pain. My attention only left him when I heard Moody's voice directly next to me.

"The final curse?" Moody asked, not looking at me, but at Hermione.

"Avada Kadavra," she said quietly.

"That's right," Moody said looking around at the class, still standing beside my desk. "The Killing Curse - the worst one of them all."

He dropped the spider in front of me and everyone turned to see what was happening. Moody pulled out his wand once more and pointed it threateningly at the spider.

"Avada Kadavra," he said without remorse.

There was a sudden flash of green light that hit the spider in front of me. As soon as it was hit, it instantly died and memories came flashing through my mind.

I thought back to the one, solid memory of my earliest years. It was when my parents had died, I had seen it replayed only a year before. I had heard my parents' voices and my mother's please to Voldemort to not hurt Harry or me. The last thing that had always happened was a sudden flash of green light before everything else faded away.

It was when I came back to reality that I noticed that I had moved my seat back and was now clutching onto the sides of the chair. I looked over at Harry whose face mirrored the one that I had on mine at the moment: realization and horror. There was no doubt that was how our parents were killed that night and that was the reason that we had the scars that ran along our foreheads.

Moody simply wiped off the dead spider into the trash as if nothing had just happened and looked between Harry and me with a curious expression on his face.

"There isn't a single countercurse to block this spell," Moody said, still looking at us. "Only two people in the history of our kind have survived it. They're both sitting in this room."

Everyone turned to look at us with wide eyes, all of them were looking towards our scars to make the connection.

After that little incident, Moody went on teaching the class all that we needed to know about the Unforgivable Curses. I don't think that I actually learned anything from the notes that we were taking in class because my full attention was focused on the look of horror that was still etched on my neighbor's face. I wanted to talk to Neville now, but there was no way that Moody was going to allow it. Not to mention that this was something personal and I doubt that Neville would talk about it in class in the first place. As soon as the bell rang, Neville bolted out of the room and I wasn't far behind him.

"Emily!" Harry called.

"I'll meet up with you in a minute," I called back in a hurry.

I lost track of Neville for a moment, but I found him in a second. He was sitting on a bench in a side passage with his head in his hands, not looking up at anyone. I walked slowly over towards him and sat down next to him cautiously. He looked up to see who it was and looked at me worriedly.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a shaky voice.

"Me?" I said almost in disbelief. "Neville…what happened in there?"

"I…" he started hesitantly.

"…you don't have to tell me now," I said slowly. "I just want to make sure that you're okay."

He nodded slowly and looked away in the distance for a moment, his eyes getting that unfocused look once again. He looked sad and scared at the same time, something that I had never really seen from him. He stayed silent for a moment, but then he began to talk in a slow, hallowed voice.

"My parents…" he choked. "T-they were…tortured to insanity when I was young…they were tortured by a Death Eater because they refused to listen to You-Know-Who…i-it was that curse that did it to them…they don't know who anyone is…they don't even know who I am…"

A single tear fell down from his eye and he wiped it away instantly with his sleeve.

I had never felt worse about anything in my life. How could I have been such a careless friend? I knew that Neville was raised by his Gran, but I had never even thought about his parents not being there.

"I'm so sorry Neville," I whispered.

He leaned back against the wall and wiped his face again.

"Don't be sorry," he said. "At lease I can still go to see my parents…you've never even seen yours before."

I wanted to tell him that it was actually me that was the lucky one, but I knew that it wouldn't help him - it would only make his suffering worse. I couldn't imagine knowing that my parents were still alive and had absolutely no idea who I was. I don't know what I would do.

Instead of telling him this, I just took his hand and squeezed it. He smiled weakly at me before he said something else.

"Emily…would you mind…not telling anyone about this?" he asked in an undertone. "I don't exactly want everyone to know yet…I don't think I'm ready for that…"

"Neville, I would never-" I said quickly.

"I know," he smiled weakly. "Thank you…for listening to me…not many people do…"

Then I heard someone coming through the empty hallway that we were sitting in and we stood up together, his hand still holding onto mine absentmindedly. I heard the thudding of his false leg before I actually saw him, but I knew exactly who it was. Moody came barging over towards us in a fasted paced walk.

"Longbottom!" he called across the hall.

Neville's eyes went wide again and he looked like he wanted to run away, but my grip on his hand held him back. I couldn't half blame him for wanting to leave either, Moody was slightly creepy. Not to mention that there was just something about him that wasn't entirely right…

"Are you two all right?" Moody growled. "Potter, you too."

"We're fine," I answered for both of us.

"Longbottom, I wanted to talk to you," Moody demanded. "I have some books that you may be interested in."

Neville looked at me with a pleading look and I wanted to help him, but I wasn't sure what to do. I was going to have to think fast.

"Actually, Neville was just about to help me with-" I started.

"That can wait," Moody said in a demanding tone.

"Oh," I said, defeated.

Neville looked terrified as Moody started to walk off, probably expecting Neville to follow. I think that for a minute, Neville actually considered running.

"It'll be okay," I said.

He sighed and started to walk away, still throwing a pleading glance back at me. I just smiled and waved, hoping for the best. Just when they were about to turn the corner, I heard several footsteps behind me.

"Where have you been?" Harry asked.

"Is Neville okay?" Hermione asked looking at where they had just disappeared.

He wasn't okay at all, but I would keep my promise. I wouldn't tell anyone about his secret, after all, if it were the other way around I know that he would do the same for me.

"Yeah, he's fine," I said.

Harry raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. He could always tell when I wasn't being completely honest…

"Emily," Harry said. "I wanted to ask you something-"

He didn't even have to ask, I was already a step ahead of him.

"Yes, I do think that was how our parents were killed," I said. "There really isn't any doubt in that."

"That's what I was thinking too," Harry nodded. "You tend to have more insight than I do though."

"It explains the green light that we see in our dreams too," I said. "It all adds up."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! Tell me what you think about it and don't forget to VOTE - the decision may be made with either the next chapter or the one after that, so VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! And remember - if you are and ANONYMOUS REVIEWER, you can vote by writing the word VOTE in all caps followed by your choice (<strong>_**only vote once!**_**)**


	11. What's a Spew?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 11**

"How was your first lesson with Moody?" George asked me at dinner that night. "Isn't he a genius?"

"He's messed up in the head," I said with a look of disgust. "He shouldn't have performed those spells in class."

"You're right," he nodded. "But the man does have a point - we have to be prepared for them."

"You weren't there..." I muttered.

"But-"

"It's not just about the lesson," I said. "It's about how it affects people!"

"That's the whole point!" he said. "If it frightens you, you won't forget it easily."

"It didn't frighten me," I retorted. "It's not just as simple as him killing a spider! Don't you realize that the very spell that you saw in class was used to kill my parents? Every time I see a flash of green light, I can hear my parents screaming for mercy - it's not exactly something that brightens my day."

George's eyes widened and he immediately began to back peddle.

"No - oh my gosh, I didn't mean to-" he started quickly saying.

"George - it's fine!" I laughed (his face expression was hilarious). "It's not really that that was bothering me the most anyway."

"What was?"

"It was Neville really," I said. "Moody really freaked him out with those spells. If you would have seen his face...you would have understood."

After lunch was over, we all decided to head up to the common room. The whole way there, Ron, Harry, and I were talking about the consequences that Moody and Dumbledore would face if the Ministry were to find out about the class that was just held today.

"We aren't supposed to know those curses," I said. "And there is probably a really good reason for that."

"You just say that because you don't like Moody," Ron said with his eyes rolling.

"It's not that I don't like him," I said. "There's just something wrong with him - he seems like he's lost his marbles or something."

"Well everyone knows that," Ron said simply. "He's mad - that's just his thing."

"But did you see the way that he was looking at Harry and me when he mentioned that we were the only ones to survive the curse?" I tried to defend myself. "He was looking at us like we were something to eat!"

"You're crazy," Ron laughed. "You always think too much into things."

"Better than thinking too little," I muttered.

Harry laughed, but Ron wasn't paying any attention to us because he was telling the Fat Lady the password - Bladerdash. We walked into the common room which was packed with people. It seemed as though the entire House was down in the common room and they were all talking loudly to each other about nothing in particular.

"I'm going to go get our Divination work," Harry said to Ron. "Didn't you already finish it Emily?"

"Yeah, I wrote it in History of Magic yesterday with Neville," I said. "I made up just about everything, but I made sure to mention my own death several times."

"Nice," Harry laughed. "Maybe you can help us with ours - we haven't started yet."

Harry ran off into the boys dormitories and I started walking around aimlessly.

"Emily!" someone called.

I turned to my right to see Fred, George, and Lee Jordan talking in the corner of the room. They all stopped talking when I walked over.

"Yes," I said looking at them all.

"So I heard that you were thinking about joining the Quidditch team," Lee said.

"Well, I was thinking about it," I said. "I don't really understand the rules entirely, so I'm not sure if that would be such a good idea."

"It's not difficult," George shrugged. "We could teach you this year so you'll be all ready to try out next year."

"What if I don't want to," I said.

"You can get over it," Fred said simply. "You're trying out for the team - we've already decided."

"How sweet," I said rolling my eyes.

"I love girls who play Quidditch," Lee said with a dreamy look. "It's so attractive."

"Nice to know," I laughed.

"Not that you aren't attractive now," Lee said quickly. "I mean, look at you - you're really-"

"Watch yourself Jordan," Fred said. "I think George might attack you."

"Why?" I asked. "He hasn't made a claim on me."

I glared at George for a second, but then turned when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Harry and Ron were standing there with their stuff in hand.

"See you later," I waved to Fred, George, and Lee.

We walked over to find a place to sit on the far side of the room. They laid all of their things out and started looking through everything.

"So, Harry," I said. "I suggest you mention that the planets affected you by...I don't know, just make it something about your death or something."

"That's the plan," Harry said with a smile.

"What about me?" Ron asked looking dumbfounded at his papers.

"Hmmm..." I thought. "Maybe you could get in some kind of fight and end up losing - or maybe you could just lose a bet."

"Good idea," Ron said and grabbed for a quill.

"I think that I'm going to predict someone stabbing me," Harry said. "What do you think Emily - believable or not?"

"She'll love it," I said. "Oh - maybe you could say that you were stabbed in the back by someone that you thought you could trust!"

While they started to write, I looked around the room. However, the person I was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey Harry," I said. "Where's Neville?"

"Up in the dormitories," he said looking up from his paper. "Why?"

"I was just wondering," I said. "I'm going to go talk to him."

"He's in the _boy's_ dormitories," Ron said. "You can't go there."

"Yes I can," I said. "Girls can go into the boys dormitories whenever they choose. It's just the boys that can't go into the girls dormitories."

"Well that isn't fair," Ron said.

"I guess that girls are just more trusting," I said simply.

I stepped up from my chair and made my way up the stairs towards the fourth year's rooms for the boys. It didn't take me very long to find it. I knocked on the door, just to make sure that I wasn't going to be barging in on anyone.

"Come in," I heard from the other side.

When I walked in, I noticed that no one else was in the room other than Neville who was sitting on his bed. He had his nose buried in some book that had a large picture of a plant on the front cover.

"What is that?" I asked.

He looked up suddenly when he heard my voice and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked. "I didn't think that-"

"Girls can go into the boys dormitories," I explained. "Just not the other way around."

"That's fair," Neville muttered sarcastically.

I walked over to a nearby windowsill and sat on the edge of it, looking out at the grounds. Then I turned back to Neville who was now placing a bookmark inside of the large book.

"So, are you all right?" I asked him.

"I'm fine," he said with a smile. "Professor Moody told me that he knew what had happened in class had really bothered me, so he gave me this book..."

"I told you that it was going to be fine," I said. "How did he know that you liked Herbology?"

"Professor Sprout told him," Neville said with a hint of pride. "She told him that I was really good in Herbology - one of the best in the year. So he gave me this book, he thought it would make me feel better."

I could tell that Neville was really proud with himself that he had a teacher bragging about his talents in class. It wasn't very often that he got any kind of praise because he didn't do all that well in any of his other classes though. It was true though, he really was the best in our year at Herbology. He even did better than Hermione, much to her dislike.

"So what is the book called?" I asked.

He held it up so I could see the binding and it read: _Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean_.

"Is it any good?" I asked him.

"It's very interesting actually," Neville said happily. "There are a lot of plants in here that we've never learned about in class before. It's really amazing..."

He looked down at the book and I could tell that he wanted to get back to it. So, I told him that I would leave him to it and I left to go back and help Harry and Ron with their work.

* * *

><p>After a long while, the common room began to clear. Next thing I knew, Hermione had arrived with a large box of things and threw them down onto the couch nearby.<p>

"Where have you been?" I asked her. "And what's in the box?"

Harry finished up his chart and walked over to look through it.

"What's...spew?" Harry asked.

"It's S.P.E.W.," Hermione corrected.

Ron raised an eyebrow as he wrote in his last entry for his prediction chart and walked over to look into the box. From where I was standing I could see an assortment of badges that had S.P.E.W. written on each of them.

"Why do I have this strange feeling that this has something to do with house-elves?" Ron asked.

"What does it stand for?" I asked as I picked up a button.

"The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare," Hermione recited.

"I've never heard of it," Ron said as he threw the badge back into the box.

"That's because I just created it," Hermione said simply.

I put a hand to my head and realized immediately what Hermione had been doing in the library all this time. How could I have not seen this coming? She had been looking up all different sorts of rights for elves so she would be able to fight for their rights. It should have been so obvious.

"So, will you all join?" she asked hopefully.

Harry and Ron looked skeptical and didn't really say anything at first, so I decided to speak up.

"Yes, we will join," I said.

"But-" Ron started.

"Thank you so much!" Hermione cried and ran over to give us all our badges.

After that, Hermione made sure to give us a huge lecture about everything that she had gathered about the rights of elves and what all we were going to be doing in protest for them. I think that I was the only one listening though because Ron and Harry both looked as though they had begun to think of other things as soon as she started speaking.

The only thing that brought Harry and Ron back to reality was when we heard a soft hooting coming from the window next to us. It was Hedwig with a letter.

"Sirius!" Harry said suddenly and ran to the window.

He took the letter from Hedwig and tore open the envelope immediately. I looked over his shoulder to see what he had said.

_Harry and Emily -_

_I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached me here. If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore -they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is._

"I shouldn't have said anything," Harry said with a frown.

"Harry-" I started.

"I'm going to bed."

He got up and walked up to his dormitory without another word.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, completely oblivious.

"He thinks that Sirius is going to get caught," I explained knowingly. "He thinks that it's his fault because he sent him a letter about the scar."

"He had to tell someone!" Hermione exclaimed.

I shrugged my shoulders and took the letter from the side table that it was sitting on. Sirius was coming towards us - could he get caught? I thought about it for a minute and decided that Sirius was really good at hiding and had little chance of actually being caught. He was going to be fine, Harry was just worrying too much. He couldn't blame himself either, but I knew that he wasn't going to listen to anything right now.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - sorry that it isn't very much and that it's kind of late. I've had a lot to do recently. Well, tell me what you think and don't forget to VOTE!<strong>


	12. Flashes of Green Light

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 12**

After a few minutes, Ron and Hermione went up to their dorms and I decided than I would take a walk around the school to think over a few things regarding Sirius and Harry.

I stepped out of the portrait and began to walk through the corridors, the halls were lit up only by the moonlight and a few occasional candles that were lit up. As I walked, each portrait I passed looked up at me in complete annoyance at waking them up during their slumber - but they were used to it. I had a habit of wandering the hallways.

As I continued to walk slowly along the halls, tracing my hand against the wall occasionally, I began to think over the situation with Sirius. Could it be that bad that he was coming North? What if he was caught? If he was, I don't think that we would get the chance to rescue him again and he would receive the Dementor's Kiss for sure. Maybe I should tell him that Dumbledore was already told about the dreams, but then I would have to explain that I have been talking to Snape frequently, something that I'm sure wouldn't go over well. Maybe I could convince Harry to tell Sirius that it was no big deal that we were having those dreams that burned our scars - they could be just regular dreams and nothing else-

CRASH!

"Get out of here Peeves!" someone said with a with a familiar snarl.

I stopped immediately in my tracks and ran in the direction that I had heard the noise. It took me a minute or so get there, but when I did, I noticed that I wasn't the only one that had heard the noise. The noise had come from the trophy room, one of the glass cabinets had been smashed to pieces. Peeves was floating happily around the room and Snape was glaring up at him.

"Right after I attend to this next cabinet!" Peeves sung out in a cheery tone.

"Do I need to get Dumbledore?" Snape threatened.

"I'm not scared of little Dumbly-dore," Peeves said while sticking out his tongue.

I knew that this wasn't a lie either, Peeves didn't listen to that many people in the school - Dumbledore being one of those people.

"What about the Bloody Baron?" I asked as I leaned against the doorframe. "I'm sure he would be thrilled to hear about this."

Snape's head snapped in my direction, noticing me standing there for the first time, and Peeves' eyes grew wide. I had caught him - the only person he really feared in this school was the Bloody Baron, Slytherin's ghost.

"There will be no need for that," Peeves said quickly. "Goodnight!"

With that, he flew quickly out of the room and off to some other part of the castle where I am sure he would continue destroying something else.

"What are you doing?" Snape asked.

"Standing..." I said. "And, you know...breathing..."

"Very funny," Snape said with an eye roll. "Must I remind you again that you are not supposed to be out of your tower after hours - you should be in bed!"

"Yeah, yeah..." I muttered. "You know me though..."

Snape raised an eyebrow and started walking slowly forward in that way that meant he expected me to follow, which I did. Instead of walking towards the tower though, we began to walk down the steps.

"Where-?" I started.

"I left a potion brewing," Snape answered. "It's nearly done now..."

I nodded my head and quickened my pace to keep up with him. He didn't walk all that fast, so it wasn't hard to keep up.

"Have you been having those dreams still?" he asked suddenly.

"No, I haven't had them for a while," I told him. "Neither has Harry."

He nodded slowly as we turned the corner towards the next set of stairs.

"Is it true that Moody is teaching you all Unforgivable Curses?" Snape asked suddenly.

"Yes, it is true," I sighed. "He is right that we should know what they are though, don't you think?"

"I guess there is a point there, but he shouldn't be performing them in class, even if Dumbledore says that he can..." Snape muttered.

We stepped into the dungeons where Snape immediately went to work on a potion that sat brewing nearby. He began to stir in more ingredients and let it simmer ever now and then.

After a moment, I brought up something that I had been thinking ever since the new professor came into the Great Hall on the first day back.

"There just isn't something right about Moody," I said. "He seems..."

"Deranged?" Snape offered. "Twisted?"

"You think so too?" I asked while looking up at him. "Everyone else thinks that he's some kind of genius, but I just think that he's mad."

"Moody has always been mad," Snape muttered. "But he seems off this year..."

"You should have seen him in class," I muttered.

"What did he do?"

"Just...the way he looked at Harry and me..." I said slowly. "Like we were something to eat. Neville too, it's like he knew that-I mean, never mind."

"I already know about the Longbottoms," Snape said simply. "I still remember when it happened."

Why didn't I already assume that? I should have figured that the older generations would have known all about what happened to the Longbottoms.

Then I started thinking about the flash of green light again. The memories that it brought back and the terror that it inflicted on both Harry and me. Should I bring it up to Snape or just leave it alone? Would he even want to know?

"What?" he asked as he stopped stirring the potion.

"I didn't-" I started.

"Emily, I know something else is bothering you - don't mock my intelligence."

I should have guessed that he would have known something was bothering me. He could read me almost as good as Harry could.

"It's about Moody's class," I said. "The one spell he used - you know, the killing curse..."

He looked up from his potion and turned off the burner.

"What about it?" he asked.

"Well..." I hesitated. "It's just that the only memory that I have of my parents was...when they died. I heard them screaming and I saw several flashes of green light. It just...bothered me to see the spell, to see what it did. I'd never really thought about what had actually killed my parents and seeing that spider lying there...it didn't look like it had been touched, there wasn't a single mark..."

I looked up at Snape and noticed that his eyes appeared to be hallow, his face was gaunt as if he had just witnessed some horrific incident. I wonder if he had seen my parents after the attack. Had he gone to the funeral? I know that he had been friends with my mother during his years at school, but I also knew that something had ended that friendship because of some of the things Sirius had told me.

"That's how the killing curse works," Snape said in a hallow tone. "It doesn't leave a single mark when it kills..."

"But it does leave a scar when it is used unsuccessfully," I murmured as I rubbed the scar on my forehead.

"Obviously," Snape said with a smirk in my direction. "Emily, please don't think too much into this...just try not to get too upset about it. Your parents died for a noble cause, don't forget that."

"Are you saying something nice about my father?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Honestly," he said with an eye-roll. "That's all you took from that."

"No," I said with a laugh. "I know that they died for a noble cause. They were doing what they believed was right...sometimes I wish that they were still here though..."

He looked at the ground and sighed.

"Well...I wish it was that easy, but it's not..." he sighed. "If it means anything...if anything ever bothers you, you can always talk to me about it."

"I know that," I smiled. "Isn't that kind of what we're doing right now?"

"I guess so," he said and with a sigh he added, "I think you need to go back to bed."

I glanced up at a nearby clock and noticed that it was two o'clock in the morning. Wow, had it really been that long ago that I was sitting up in the common room? It certainly didn't feel like that.

Together, Snape and I exited the dungeons and soon enough we were walking up towards the tower. It seemed like that was always the case - he would always find me wandering and set me back to where I was supposed to be going. He was truly the father that I had never had.

* * *

><p>The next morning I woke up early to make sure that I would be able to talk to Harry before he returned the letter to Sirius. However, my brother woke up even earlier than I did and I caught up to him when he returned to the common room just before breakfast.<p>

"Where were you?" I asked with a yawn.

"I went by the Owlery," Harry said.

"What did you tell Sirius?" I asked him.

"I told him that it wasn't as big of a deal as he thought," he said. "I really don't want him coming closer to us. What if he gets caught? It would be all my fault..."

"Harry, it wouldn't be your fault," I said. "Sirius is going to do what he wants no matter what you tell him, I know he will. Besides, he's really good at keeping himself hidden, what are the odds that he's going to get caught?"

"The odds are a lot better if he comes closer to the castle," Harry said. "That's just what they want him to do."

"Don't forget that he was hidden on the grounds for the majority of our last school year," I told him.

"I don't know," he sighed. "I just don't want him to risk it."

"Me either..." I sighed.

Not long afterwards, we decided to go down to breakfast. Not all that many people had made it down there so far, but it didn't take long before the Great Hall was filled with students once again.

"Hey Emily," George called just as he sat down a few seats away from me. "Where were you last night? I was looking for you."

"Oh," I said. "I was - er - taking a walk around the castle."

"Well, could you look at something for us?" Fred asked me. "There is a...um...item that we need repairing."

"You've got to be joking!" Hermione exclaimed. "You two are still making those things for Weasley Wizard Wheezes after what your mother told you?"

"Of course we are," George shrugged.

"We're nearly finished too," Fred said. "Emily - could you help us with it? It's the last product before we start selling."

"Of course I will," I smiled. "You've finished everything else for the Skiving Snackboxes? How did you get those past your mum?"

"We're like ninjas," George winked. "She'll never catch us."

"She already did!" Hermione jumped in.

"Other than that time of course," Fred brushed off her comment. "Meet us tonight in the common room and we'll have everything there."

"Don't agree to this Emily!" Hermione warned. "You heard their mother - she doesn't approve of this."

"I'll see you there," I said while ignoring Hermione completely.

Fred and George waved as they exited the Hall and I looked back to see Hermione glaring over at me. Ron was giving her a skeptical look, probably wondering whether or not she was going to explode or not.

"I cannot believe you," Hermione lectured. "Did you not hear what their mother said to them? She doesn't want them to make these things - she wants them to have a stable and successful future and all you're doing is making it worse by encouraging them!"

"What makes you think that they won't have a successful future the way that they are going?" I asked. "They are actually a lot smarter than you think Hermione! It takes quite a bit of advanced magi in order to make the things that they're making - you wouldn't understand."

"Of course I wouldn't understand!" Hermione said. "They're acting childish and so are you! They aren't going to make it anywhere the way that they are going - it's not stable-"

"Not stable?" I asks in disbelief. "Hermione - honestly! They are really good at this and they are going to make it somewhere - maybe if you open up your eyes to see that then maybe you could see that!"

"But their parents-" Hermione started.

"Their parents can't make their decisions for them!" I interrupted. "If it was up to their parents then they would be working for the Ministry - can you honestly see them working there?"

"No, but-"

"But nothing!" I said.

Hermione didn't speak up after that because she knew that she was wrong and I was right. Fred and George weren't going to do something just because their mother and father said so - they make their own decisions. If Hermione actually saw the things that Fred and George made and the amount of magic needed to make them, then we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

I looked to my sides and noticed Ron and Harry staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You think Fred and George are smart?" Ron asked seriously.

"Honestly, that's all you took from that," I rolled my eyes.

After breakfast ended, we went off to our first class of the day: Defense Against the Dark Arts. I can't say that I was looking forward to this class all that much considering what happened during the last lesson. I also noticed that Neville stood waiting outside of the room when we got there.

"What's wrong?" I asked him quickly.

"Nothing," Neville said honestly. "I just didn't want Moody to talk to me alone again."

"I see," I laughed.

Together, we all walked into the class and we sat down in the same seats that we had been sitting in before. To our surprise, we weren't going to be listening to a lecture today - instead, Moody was going to be putting the Imperius Curse on us.

"I thought that was illegal," I said to Neville.

"He's mad..." Neville muttered to me.

As always, we could always count on Hermione to object and raise her hand. Moody just raised an eyebrow in her direction and she took that as a cue to start talking.

"Professor, you told us during the last lesson that these spells are illegal," she said in a worried tone. "You could go to Askaban for performing them-"

"Dumbledore wants you to know what it feels like to have it on you," Moody growled. "If you feel like you won't be able to take it then you are exempt and you can leave. You all can learn the hard way when a dark wizard throws this one on you."

Everyone in the classroom stayed silent and began to form a line as Moody magically cleared the desks to the side of the room so we could have room to do the assignment.

Our task was to attempt to fight off this spell, but no one seemed to know how to do that. Lavender Brown, when her turn came around, suddenly began to imitate a squirrel and started crawling around the room in an odd fashion.

"I hope he doesn't make me do that," Neville said while looking skeptically at Lavender.

He didn't have him do that, instead he had him doing a very difficult looking gymnastics routine that he wouldn't have been able to do normally. It looked very odd and if it wasn't for Moody's eye that kept staring at me, I probably would have laughed.

"Potter - the boy," Moody added quickly. "You're next."

"Careful Harry," I warned.

Harry stepped up in front of our teacher and immediately had the curse thrown on him. Harry immediately went over to the far side of the room where the desks were and climbed on them. He them went to jumping from desk to desk in an odd looking fashion. Then, suddenly while he was jumping to the fourth desk, he fell to the floor.

"Harry!" I called and started to go over to help him.

"He's fine," Moody growled. "In fact, he's better than fine - he's the first one to actually fight it! He nearly beat it too!"

I helped Harry stand up as Moody called out my name to go next. I looked over to see Hermione and Ron praising Harry for his accomplishment as he walked over.

I stood in the middle of the room, trying to mentally prepare myself for what was going to happen next. I wasn't really sure because no one had given me any kind of warning as to what was going to happen to me.

"Imperio," Moody muttered as he pointed the wand in my direction.

Suddenly a weird, floating sensation fell over my mind and I felt like I was in another world. It didn't actually feel all that bad, kind of like I was in some kind of dream world where I didn't have a worry in the world.

_Start running around the room._

I began to obey the command and ran quickly around the room. Then I got to thinking, who was telling me that? I guess it must have been Moody. Why should I run though - I don't really want to.

_Run faster._

No, I don't really feel like it. It seems rather pointless that I run in circles around the room. I felt myself begin to slow down.

_I said to RUN FASTER!_

NO! I thought back. I DON'T WANT TO!

Then I came to an abrupt stop and tripped and fell on the ground. All at once, I felt the floating sensation leave my mind and I had my mind back. I looked around the room and found Harry standing in front of me, helping me to my feet.

"Wonderful!" Moody called. "Seems the Potters have a talent for fighting against the Unforgivable Curses."

"Wow, I'm glad that isn't awkward," I muttered as I walked over to the side of the room.

Harry let out a small laugh, but immediately stopped when Moody called us both back to the middle of the room. He practiced the curse on us both two more times for the class to watch us carefully and try to watch our example. Finally, the bell rang and Harry and I practically ran out of the room before he could try that again.

"That was great!" Neville said as he caught up to me. "How did you fight it off?"

"I just told myself that I didn't want to do what he was saying," I said.

"I guess I should try that if he does that again," Neville noted. "Though I really hope he doesn't."

"He better not do that again," I muttered. "I felt like some kind of experiment..."

"I told you that the man is mad," Neville said. "Next thing you know he'll be throwing the Cruciatus Curse on us..."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it. Tell me what you think and don't forget to VOTE! Sorry that I haven't been updating as frequently as usual, I'll try to get back to that starting now, I have just had a lot to do recently (I hope you can forgive me!).<strong>


	13. Champions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 13**

Later that day, we ran into some exciting news while we were on our way to the Great Hall from Hagrid's lesson. We were going into the Hall, when we were stopped by a large crowd that was blocking the entrance and we couldn't get through.

"Hey - what's going on?" I asked over the crowd.

"Is Malfoy a ferret again?" Ron asked excitedly.

Harry let out a laugh and Ron, who was the tallest in our group, tried to look over everyone's head to see the bulletin that was posted on the door.

"Can you read it?" Hermione asked as she attempted, and failed, at trying to get a look through the crowd.

"_TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER," _Ron read out._ "LESSONS WILL END HALF AN HOUR EARLY. STUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE THE WELCOMING FEAST."_

"Brilliant!" Harry smiled as we made it out of the crowd. "We have Potions that day!"

"I guess he won't be able to poison us then," Ron said.

"He wasn't going to poison you anyway," I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe if you two actually tried to do well in the class, he wouldn't detest you so much," Hermione sighed.

"Honestly," Ron muttered. "The two of you need to form some kind of Snape-loving group or something."

"Come off it," I said and hit him in the arm.

After it was announced that the two other schools would be arriving at the school soon, the Triwizard Tournament became the topic everyone was talking about. Everyone was discussing who they thought the Hogwarts champion was going to be and whether or not Fred and George were going to successfully get their names entered in (though this was only a subject that the few of us were discussing). Meanwhile, the Weasley twins were constantly at my side, wondering when I was going to start brewing the potion. The only problem that seemed to come up about that was the fact that I didn't actually have the ingredients.

"Don't worry, we'll get those for you," Fred smiled.

"You're going to steal them from Snape, aren't you?" I asked with a smile.

"How could you ever think we would do something like that?" George asked innocently. "I am offended!"

Not only were they constantly bugging me about the potion, they also continuously complained about something else that they had just realized. Apparently the winnings that they had earned at the Quidditch World Cup over the bet that they had won had completely disappeared. It was fake gold and they had been tricked.

It was finally a relief when the day finally came around that the two other schools were arriving. No one was quite sure how they were going to arrive, so we were all anxious to see what was going to happen. When their welcoming feast finally came around, we were all told to be on our very best behavior and we all had to make sure our uniforms were completely clean and put on properly - shirts must be tucked in (Ron had been yelled at by McGonagall about that just about 5 times that very day).

"Okay, everyone," McGonagall said nervously as we entered the Entrance Hall. "Everyone be respectful and don't do anything that will embarrass us - Longbottom, please try to refrain from magic as much as possible and Mr. and Mr. Weasley - I do ask that you keep yourselves under control."

Fred and George seemed to take that as a compliment and Neville didn't really seem to be all that offended by the comment that she had made that anyone else would have taken as an insult - I guess he was used to being told that he wasn't that good at magic.

"How do they get here?" I asked. "Does anyone know?"

"It's a mystery really," Hermione said. "The schools always try to compete with each other, so I can imagine that they are both going to have a memorable entrance."

"Maybe they'll come in on dragons," Ron said excitedly.

"Honestly…" Hermione said with a roll of her eyes.

We all stood around waiting for what seemed like an eternity for them to arrive. Just when we all began to get restless, something caught our attention and Dumbledore was the only one who spoke.

"Ah, it appears that Beauxbatons has arrived," he said happily and looked up into the air.

Everyone was already looking into the sky long before Dumbledore had announced it. In the air flew what appeared to be a large, unidentifiable object. As it drew nearer though, it looked as though it was a giant, floating house that was being led by enormous, flying horses. We all watched, completely mesmerized, as the house flew elegantly to the ground and landed with grace on the grass in front of the castle.

It sat still for a moment, every student of Hogwarts watching the carriage in anticipation. Then, all of a sudden, the door in the front of the carriage flew open. Out of the carriage came a gigantic woman, bigger than any other person that I had seen before, maybe even bigger than Hagrid! Following closely behind her was a group of twelve boys and girls, all in their teens, in pale blue robes.

As soon as the giant women entered into the Entrance Hall with her students behind her, she stopped and looked around the hall as if examining it for the very first time, though I wouldn't doubt that it probably was the first time in a while that she had seen it if she had ever seen it at all.

"That's a big woman," Seamus whispered behind me.

I resisted the urge to laugh because I had a feeling that McGonagall might murder me if I even uttered a sound at the present moment. Finally, the silence was broken by Dumbledore.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Madam Maxine," he said with a welcoming smile.

"'ello Dumbly-dort," she said with a deep voice. "It iz nice to see you again."

"The pleasure is all mine," Dumbledore said with a small, respectful bow.

They spoke for another minute or so, but I never heard a word of what they said because of another noise that I heard in the distance. There was a deep rumbling coming from another area of the grounds.

"What is that?" Neville whispered to me.

"I think that it's coming from the lake," I murmured as I looked in that direction.

I was right, that was exactly where it was coming from. Both the Beauxbatons and Hogwarts students, along with Dumbledore and Madam Maxine, all turned their attention to the lake as the water appeared to rumble and splash along the shore. Suddenly, a long, black pole arose from the water and not long afterwards, a giant ship appeared right out of the water.

"Wow," Ron said with an open mouth.

A moment later, people began to emerge from the ship. All of these people appeared to be wearing extremely large coats and hats that gave them a more bulky looking appearance. As they drew nearer, I noticed the older man standing in the front - he was obviously the headmaster.

"Dumbledore!" he called in a booming voice. "How nice to see you - it's been a while since I've seen good old Hogwarts."

He smiled up at the castle, but it was as though he was taking in every detail of the castle and criticizing its every wall. Finally, after a moment, the students from Durmstrang caught up to the castle and all stood up in a line in front of us. It was then that I noticed two people that were very familiar.

"It's Krum!" Ron gasped quietly.

Both of them stood next to each other and wore the very same face expression. However, I did notice that the one appeared to be a little bit more relaxed and slightly happier than the other - it was Vector. When our eyes met, he suddenly smiled happily at me and waved.

"Hi," I mouthed as I waved back.

"What is _he_ doing here?" I heard a quiet snarl from behind me.

I glanced back and saw George glaring over to the side were the Durmstrang students stood. Then I suddenly remembered how much George hated Vector - though I wasn't really sure why. I don't know what he ever did to him other than exist.

"It's Victor Krum!" Ron said excitedly. "I cannot believe that he goes to school still - and there is his twin! I wonder if he's any good at Quidditch…"

"He said that he played for the school team, but he never went professional," I told him.

"Probably doesn't have the talent," George muttered.

"Why do you hate him so much?" I asked.

"Well…because he…he's a prick - I can just tell," he mumbled.

"Is that so?" I laughed.

"Someone's jealous," Fred said while nudging his brother in the side.

"I am not!" George said, his face going a little pink. "What is there to be jealous of?"

"Other than the fact that he's talking to your girl-" Fred started

He didn't get to finish this statement because he was then punched in the side by George who was now as red as a tomato in the face. I wasn't really sure what his deal was - I didn't really like Vector like that. Not that it should matter to him in the first place considering the fact that he hasn't made a move himself…

Once everyone had arrived, we all made our way towards the Great Hall where we sat down to eat the feast that was prepared by the house-elves - a fact that was constantly being said by Hermione. The Durmstrang students took a seat at the Slytherin table, much to George's liking.

"They _would_ sit next to Slytherin," George muttered. "Bunch of no good-"

"I cannot believe that _Victor Krum_ is here," Ron said happily as he gazed over at the Quidditch player.

"Why don't you just go ask him out on a date," Hermione said with an eye roll. "It's obvious that you're in love with him."

"I am not!" Ron said going a little red around the ears.

Just then, Dumbledore stood up and looked around at his guests and students with a large smile spread across his face. The entire Hall began to quiet down as he began his speech.

"Welcome all," he smiled. "I am pleased to have you all staying here at Hogwarts and I do hope that your stay is pleasurable. The tournament will be opened as soon as we finish our dinner, so I ask that you all enjoy the feast and make yourselves at home."

He sat down in his chair and all at once, food began to appear on the table in front of us. All of the food that I saw around me was different than I had ever seen before. Hermione, who seemed angry that the elves had put forth such an effort with this meal, looked around angrily before announcing that most of the meal seemed to be French.

Not that long into the feast, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see the familiar face of Vector Krum. Ron dropped his fork into his plate upon his appearance.

"Hello," he said with a smile. "I wasn't aware that you went to Hogwarts."

"I didn't even know that you were still in school," I said. "You look a lot older than you really are."

"Looks like a child in my opinion," George muttered.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Weezley," Vector said. "I remember you from the World Cup."

"I bet you do," George said, his eyes narrowing. "Don't forget who I am either."

"What do you mean-?" Vector started.

"So are you thinking of competing in the Tournament?" I asked him quickly.

"I think that my brother wishes to join, so I'm not sure if I'll try to enter or not," Vector said. "The risk is quite alarming."

"Risk?" George asked with a snort. "It's worth the risk - have you heard of the prize?"

"That's what my brother says," he said with a sigh. "I wish he could see that there is a strong chance that he could be killed in this sort of tournament."

"But-" George started.

"You're right," I said, glaring over at George. "I wish that _some people_ would understand that they shouldn't try to enter a tournament like this - no matter how slim their chances are of getting in. The people that care about them are worried that something could happen to them."

George didn't speak up and looked down at his hands looking pretty guilty. It was true that people were worried that something could happen to him - I know that I was for one. What if the potion really did work? I know that it wasn't a very strong chance, but what if it did? Hermione was right in saying that I couldn't live with myself if George or Fred got hurt in this mess.

Vector, who was standing behind me, stayed silent for a moment before speaking

"I'll see you later, Emily," he smiled.

He took me by the hand and kissed it gently before smiling again and going back to where his classmates were. When I looked around the room, I noticed the looks of envy that I was getting from just about every girl in the room. I don't know why everyone saw that as such a big deal, but when I turned around I half expected to see George start twitching because of the look of disgust that he wore on his face.

Not too much longer after Vector left our table, another girl came by from the Beauxbatons school to pick up a dish that sat in front of us. When she went by, I had to hold back my laughter as I watched Ron went completely speechless when she asked him something. Once she left, I was half expecting him, along with a whole lot of other guys, to begin to drool because of her very presence.

"She's got to be veela," Ron said while gaping.

"Of course she isn't," Hermione said with an eye roll. "Don't be an idiot."

"There is no way that she is just a normal girl," Ron said, still gazing after the girl. "Why don't they make them like that at Hogwarts?"

"I don't know Ron," Harry said gazing off into another direction. "I think they do…"

I followed Harry's gaze to find that he was looking over at Cho Chang, a fifth year Ravenclaw. I don't know why I hadn't picked up on this before, but Harry did stare at Cho Chang a lot. It's about time that he found a girl that he fancies…

I turned for a second and noticed George gazing over at me, a serious expression on his face.

"You're right Harry," he murmured. "There are beautiful girls here too…"

I felt myself start to blush as George gave me a small smile and I looked down at my hands in embarrassment. George had never called me beautiful before, but I knew that he was being honest and not just his usual dumb self when he said it. It really did mean a lot coming from him.

"What are they doing here?" Hermione asked suddenly.

I looked up and saw both Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch sitting up near where Dumbledore now stood. The crowd grew silent as Dumbledore began to speak.

"The moment has come that we begin the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore announced. "Let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

Everyone began to respectfully applaud the two men before Dumbledore continued his speech.

"They will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts," Dumbledore said to the attentive crowd. As you know, three champions compete in the tournament. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

With this, a casket was brought in front of the Hogwarts Headmaster. Dumbledore waved his wand over it and it slowly creaked open to reveal a large, wooden cup that was filled with blue-white flames that danced at the surface of the cup. I glanced around the room and noticed that every eye was transfixed on this Goblet of Fire.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. As a precaution, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet to ensure that no one under the age of seventeen will enter their name into the Goblet."

Once Dumbledore finished up his speech, everyone began to disperse towards their common room, and the other schools to their carriage/ship. Once I was in the common room, I turned around and noticed that Fred and George were at my heels and were looking down at me expectantly.

"So, do you have the stuff?" Fred asked me with a small grin.

"Yes, I did make it," I said. "But I'm telling you that it's not going to work."

I went up to my dormitory and came back down into the common room with a potion in hand. Throughout the past few days or so, Fred and George had managed to get all of the ingredients over to me so that I could make them a small dose of an Aging Potion.

"Excellent," Fred said while rubbing his hands together. "It's completely ready, right?"

"Yes, it's perfect," I said with a sigh as I handed it over to them.

"You're brilliant Emily," George smiled.

"You both do realize that this probably isn't going to work, right?" I said.

"Sure it will," George said. "You made the potion and you're the best potion maker in the school aside from Snape himself."

"It doesn't matter how good the potion is," I told them. "Dumbledore is setting up an Age Line, they are ready for this kind of thing."

"We're nearly seventeen anyway," Fred shrugged. "We should be allowed to do this."

"You shouldn't do this though," I said with worry. "It's dangerous. If this does work…what if one of you gets chosen? You could get hurt…"

"We're going to be fine," George said as he put his arm around my shoulders.

"Fine, it isn't going to work anyway…" I muttered.

"We'll just have to go see that for ourselves," Fred smiled.

They both drank out of the cauldron that the potion was in and looked happily at one another. The next thing I knew, we were all racing down to the Goblet of Fire to see if it was going to work. When we got there, I met up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione who were all watching everyone else enter their names. I walked over to them as Fred and George stood in line to enter their names.

"They're going to do this, aren't they?" Harry smiled.

"Unfortunately," I laughed. "It's not going to work…it better not work…"

"If you don't want them to do this, then why did you help them?" Harry asked.

"I didn't want them poisoning themselves…" I muttered. "They can't make a decent potion to save their lives…"

"And we all know that you're the best Potion maker at Hogwarts," Ron said with a smile.

"That's not true-" I started.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ron said rolling his eyes. "I guess that Snape might know a little more than you about Potion making."

"He knows everything about it…" I said. "I wish I had his skill-"

"Oh come off it," Ron laughed. "Let's just see what happens with them."

I looked towards the Goblet to see Fred and George walk across the Age Line. Everyone cheered as they made it across successfully. For a moment, I felt myself begin to panic thinking that it had actually worked, but with a sudden sizzling noise the twins flew through the air and onto their backs outside of the circle.

"Oh no," I muttered.

Then they sat up and looked at each other and I had to stifle back a laugh at the looks of them. On both of their faces sat an enormous white beard. Once they stood up and looked at one another, they both began to laugh. Soon enough, the entire hall began to erupt into laughter at the failure of these two boys.

The following day everyone gathered into the Great Hall for dinner with excitement. It was now the time for it to be decided who the champions of each of the schools were going to be. At the Gryffindor table, we all discussed who we thought was going to make it. We all hoped that it was going to be Angelina Johnson because she was the only Gryffindor actually trying to get into the Tournament. Everyone said that it would be better her than Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff that we had met at the World Cup and who was also the Seeker for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

The second that Dumbledore stood up and walked towards the Goblet of Fire, the entire hall went completely silent and looked in that direction when he began to speak.

"I believe that the time has come for the champions to be selected," Dumbledore announced. "The Goblet should be finished deciding any minute now…"

Everyone went silent and watched the Goblet like there was nothing more important in the world than this flaming cup. I wasn't all that sure as to what was going to happen, but I knew that it would be obvious when it had made a decision - something was going to change.

Harry opened his mouth to ask a question, but was silenced immediately when the blue fire in the Goblet suddenly turned bright red and spit out a small piece of parchment from itself. Dumbledore rose his hand in the air and caught it.

"The champion from Durmstrang is…" Dumbledore read. "Victor Krum!"

Everyone cheered, though no one believed it to be that shocking that he had won this title. Krum walked up towards the front of the room to stand where he was told that the champions were to stand. He looked completely untouched by the fact that he was just chosen to compete. Apparently it wasn't much of a shock for him either. When the cheering stopped, everyone's attention flew back to the Goblet. Within seconds, the flames turned red once again and another piece of parchment flew out of the fire. Dumbledore caught it in the air and red it aloud.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour!"

"It's her Ron!" Harry said excitedly.

Everyone cheered as the girl with silvery-white hair that Ron had been gawking at before stood up from Ravenclaws' table and stepped up towards the front of the room next to Victor Krum. When the cheering died down, I looked directly back at the Goblet to find out who the champion for Hogwarts was going to be. The crowd went silent as the Goblet spit out another piece of parchment that Dumbledore caught in the air.

"And the champion for Hogwarts," Dumbledore announced. "Is Cedric Diggory!"

The roaring from the Hufflepuff table was practically deafening. Cedric Diggory stood up from the table and walked proudly up to the front of the room to stand next to Fleur Delacour and Victor Krum.

"Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real -"

Then something silenced him suddenly. Everyone's attention turned back towards the Goblet in confusion. The blue flame had turned a dark red color and out from the goblet came another two pieces of parchment.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it. I'm really sorry that I am once again late with this update. I had a birthday party yesterday that took up a lot of time and I wasn't able to write that day. I hope that you all can forgive me! By the way, the poll is closed - obviously. I hope that you aren't too unhappy with the results. Tell me what you think, try not to be too harsh because today is my birthday!<strong>

**By the way, I do realize that I am terrible at writing in accents. Sorry!**


	14. Why Did Our Names Get Called?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 14**

The two pieces of parchment began to float towards the ground for a moment before Dumbledore caught them in each of his hands. Everyone stared in his direction in complete shock and confusion. What was going on? There were only three champions, so only three pieces of parchment were supposed to come out of the fire.

Dumbledore said something quietly so that no one could hear him, even in this silence. But he looked up from the paper in my general direction in shock and repeated what he had said.

"Harry Potter and Emily Potter," Dumbledore said.

My mouth fell open in shock. Why was he saying our names - what was going on? This was impossible, they must have a mistake. Everyone turned to look at us and several conversations broke out immediately, mostly in confusion and outrage. I looked over at Harry whose eyes were huge and looking around frantically as if he thought Dumbledore had called someone else's name.

"Emily…what's going on?" he asked quietly.

"I…I don't know…" I said in shock. "There must be some mistake."

We just sat where we were, not sure what to do. Dumbledore and the rest of the people in the hall were staring at us and it made me feel like I couldn't move. I was shocked and numb, I didn't know what to do. We couldn't be champions - it was impossible. We were too young and we never even entered our names into the cup. Did someone else? Was this some kind of joke?

"Both of you," Dumbledore called. "Up here - now."

Slowly, both of us stood up and began walking towards the front of the room. I could feel the stares and the glares from everyone in the room. People were shocked, confused, and angry - I didn't need to hear what they were thinking to be able to tell that. It felt like an eternity walking down the aisle towards Dumbledore, but we finally made it up there. After a moment, he led us through the crowd of teachers behind him and towards a separate room - the trophy room - where we were going to have to wait. On the way in the room, I noticed a particular set of eyes that wouldn't look away. Snape looked just as shocked as everyone else in the room, but there was also a distinct look of terror that filled his eyes when he watched us walk into the trophy room.

Once we were in the room, Dumbledore returned to the Great Hall to dismiss everyone else so that we could all talk. Harry and I stood alongside of Victor, Fleur, and Cedric who all looked completely confused as to why we were even in the room. Then I thought back and realized that they had actually been led in here just before the Goblet released our names.

"What iz it?" Fleur asked us. "Do zey want us in ze Hall again?"

"Well…n-no…" I stuttered, still stunned as to what had just happened. "You see…what happened was-"

"Isn't this brilliant!" someone said cheerfully behind me.

I turned around to see Ludo Bagman walking into the trophy room with huge smile plastered on his face. What was wrong with him? What was he so happy about? He stepped in between Harry and me and threw his arms around us both.

"May I introduce you all to our fourth and fifth champion?" Bagman said cheerfully.

Victor, Cedric, and Fleur stood up straight and looked at us both in shock and confusion.

"Iz zis some kind of joke?" Fleur asked.

"No, not at all," Bagman smiled. "Their names just flew out of the Goblet - it was extraordinary!"

"But they're too young," Cedric said in confusion. "They can't compete…can they?"

Suddenly the door behind us all burst open. Professor Dumbledore, followed closely by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape entered the room, all looking angry and confused as they had before.

"What iz the meaning of zis Dumbley-dore?" Madam Maxine demanded.

"I was about to ask the same thing," Karkaroff said angrily. "Three Hogwarts champions? Is that even aloud?"

I felt all eyes towards Harry and me, both of us were backed up towards the wall behind us trying to become invisible. That obviously wasn't going to work out very well.

"I was under the impression that _your _Age Line was going to prevent this sort of thing," Karkaroff said.

"This isn't Dumbledore's fault," Snape said suddenly. "The boy obviously did something - he's always getting into some kind of trouble!"

"Zen what about ze girl?" Madam Maxine said while pointing at me. "Explain zat one!"

Snape opened his mouth to continue, but Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him. Snape obeyed and everyone in the room turned to Dumbledore who was now looking at both Harry and me.

"Did either of you enter your names into the Goblet of Fire?" Dumbledore asked us calmly.

"No," we both said at the same time.

"Did you have one of the older students place your name into the cup?" he asked.

"No," we said simultaneously.

"Well obviously they are lying!" Karkaroff said irritably. "How else could their names have just appeared in the cup?"

"The boy obviously threw their names into the cup-" Snape started irritably.

"Why iz it zat you keep blaming za boy?" Madam Maxine inquired. "What about zee girl?"

"She wouldn't-" Snape started.

"Enough!" Dumbledore stopped them. "Both Harry and Emily are very well behaved students - neither of them would ever willingly go against the rules that we have set up."

Snape scoffed, but Mr. Crouch took this opportunity to speak up.

"They have to compete," Crouch said simply. "There name came out of the Goblet of Fire and it's a binding contract, they can't back out of this."

Karkaroff and Madam Maxine looked at Mr. Crouch as though he was completely out of his mind. I couldn't half blame them either and I could imagine that I had the same expression as they did. I didn't want to compete - I never in my wildest dreams would have wanted this. This could very well kill the both of us.

"We have to readmit the names into the Goblet," Karkaroff demanded. "Start this entire thing over."

"You cannot do that," Bagman said. "You know how it works - the Goblet won't start up again until the beginning of the next tournament."

"I am pulling my champion out then," Karkaroff said angrily. "Durmstrang will not be competing - this is absurd-"

"You can't pull out," Moody growled from the doorframe. "It's a magical binding contract - you know as well as I do that you cannot do that."

Moody walked into the room, a thud sounding with each footstep he made. He glared at Karkaroff with a look of utter hatred as if he was accusing him of something on the spot.

"They didn't put their names into the Goblet of Fire," said Moody. "It's very simple, don't you see? Someone obviously put their names into the cup in hopes that they would get killed."

My eyes widened and I looked over at Harry who suddenly became tense. It wouldn't be the first time that our murder was planned on the grounds of Hogwarts. It's slightly ironic that the castle is considered one of the safest places to be considering we have almost been killed on the grounds at least twice before in the past two years.

"Moody, that's a little serious, isn't it?" Bagman spoke up.

"Oh please," Karkaroff snickered. "The man always thinks people are out to kill one another."

"Are you suggesting that I'm imagining things Karkaroff?" Moody growled. "It's obvious that a skilled witch or wizard entered their name into the cup-"

"Where iz your evidence?" Madam Maxine asked. "There iz nozzing to prove zat!"

"The Goblet of Fire is a very complex object," Moody said. "It had to have been a very skilled wizard to have tricked such an object. They would have had to trick the Goblet into believing that there were four or five schools competing so that they could enter both of their names as separate schools."

"You seem to have given this a lot of thought Moody," Karkaroff said darkly.

"As you should very well remember," Moody growled. "It is my job to think as dark wizards do."

Everyone went silent and looked between both Moody and Karkaroff. I wouldn't have been all that shocked if they had gone out into a duel at that very moment because of the looks on their faces as they glared menacingly at one another.

"It seems to me that Harry and Emily will both have to compete alongside of Cedric," Dumbledore said. "There doesn't seem to be any other way…"

No one challenged him because they all knew that it was true. Our names were part of a contract and we couldn't break it. But who did this to us? Did they really want us dead or were they just pulling some kind of sick prank on us? What was going to happen?

"The first task will take place on the twenty-fourth of November," Crouch spoke up in a trembling voice. "This task will test your daring, so you will not know what you will be facing until the date comes around. You are to have no outside help with this task other than the use of your wands. I wish you all the best of luck."

Everyone nodded silently and began to exit the room one by one. Dumbledore gave me a weak smile as I began to exit the room and I also noticed the look of deep concern from both him and Snape. They knew that we were going to die - it was as simple as that.

Together, Harry, Cedric, and I all walked out from the trophy room and towards our common rooms as soon as we could. I couldn't help but notice that he kept glancing over at us with curiosity.

"So…how did you get your names in the Goblet?" he asked finally.

"We didn't put our names in," Harry said.

"Right…" Cedric said with a small smile.

He thought we were lying. How could he think that? Why would we want to put our names into the goblet? Unless he thought we were just trying to get some money out of it.

"We didn't do it," I insisted. "Why would we want to set ourselves up for death?"

"I didn't say anything," Cedric said, still not believing us.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes.

Soon enough, Cedric departed in the other direction towards the Hufflepuff common room and Harry and I made our way towards the Gryffindor Tower slowly.

"No one is going to believe us," Harry said after a moment.

"I know…" I sighed. "Cedric just proved that."

We didn't talk anymore after that. We continued to walk silently throughout the hallway until we made it to the Fat Lady. As soon as we gave her the password and the portrait opened, there was a blast of sound we could hear from the common room. We walked in and everyone jumped towards us at once. Harry, who took a look at the crowd with disbelief, took off towards the dorms immediately so he wouldn't have to confront them all. How nice of him to leave me here alone with them - NOT!

"How did you do it?" Fred asked.

"You were helping us - you should have told us you were going to enter!" George said.

"We didn't-" I started.

"Emily - I thought that you said that the Tournament was too dangerous!" Lee Jordan said. "Were you just trying to make yourself unsuspicious?"

"What-?" I yelled.

Then all at once people began to jump towards me and bombard me with questions about how we got into the Tournament and what we were going to do during it. As the crowd of people began to close in on me; I began to panic at once. The walls were closing in and there was no escape-then it all went away at once as I felt myself being pulled out.

I was being dragged through the crowd and finally we managed to get out of there and towards the side of the room that people weren't in. I backed up against the wall and saw them all following us, but the crowd stopped when the person that dragged me stepped in front of me.

"Just leave her alone!" Neville shouted. "Can't you see that you're bothering her?"

Everyone looked around at one another for a minute and looked slightly ashamed. They all dispersed and went into small groups to talk about what had just happened and what the chances were that Hogwarts was going to be the champion.

"Thanks," I said quietly to Neville.

"Yeah…I figured you had enough on your mind at the moment without all of them attacking you," he sighed. "Where did Harry go?"

"He ran off as soon as we got in here," I told him. "I guess that I should have followed him…"

I looked back towards everyone else and noticed several eyes looking directly at me. Everyone was talking about me…they thought that we wanted to be in the Tournament, I could just tell. They thought that we just wanted more attention…more fame…if only they knew that it was the exact opposite. I would rather be anyone else right now.

"You didn't really do it, did you?" Neville asked as he leaned up against the wall next to me.

"No…" I said. "We didn't…no one is going to believe us though."

"I believe you," he said. "I know that you didn't want any part of this Tournament - you've been saying it for a while now. Harry seemed like he might have been interested, but I don't think he would have done it either."

"I wish everyone else could see that…" I muttered.

"Well, don't worry about them," he sighed. "They'll come around eventually."

"I can only hope…" I sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I know that not everyone is happy with the results of who the champions are, I know that it seems to be a little cliché. I hope that I'll still be able to make it interesting for you though. Again, if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in a comment or a private message! Thanks!<strong>


	15. Why Doesn't Anyone Believe Us?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

**Chapter 15**

I woke up early the next morning, probably due to the fact that I had gone to sleep so early the night before. I didn't want to talk to anyone because I knew that everyone was going to make their assumptions no matter what I said to them. When I woke up, I quickly got dressed and went down the steps into the common room. Unfortunately, I saw Ron walking quickly towards the exit when I got there.

"Hey!" I called to him.

He stopped for a moment, looked at me, and rolled his eyes. Without another word, he opened the portrait hole and walked out. I was stunned. How could he be mad at me? What did I do? Did he not believe us? Harry had obviously talked to him the night before or he would be asking me about it. I knew that Ron and I weren't exactly as good of friends as he was with Harry, but he never treated me like this.

I wasn't going to just let him run off though, so I quickly ran through the portrait hole to catch up to him before he made it too far. Unfortunately though, I didn't manage to catch up to him until we made it to the Great Hall.

"HEY!" I yelled at him.

"WHAT?" he yelled back, stopping in his tracks to look at me. "What do you want?"

"I want to know what the hell your problem is!" I demanded.

"What _my _problem is?" he yelled. "What is _your _problem?"

"I don't have a problem!" I yelled. "You're the one that's acting like a child and stomping his feet around!"

"Why didn't either of you tell anyone that you were entering the tournament?" Ron demanded. "Thought it would get you two a little more attention, eh? Well you sure as hell are the talk of the school now!"

"You know as well as I do that we didn't enter the tournament!" I yelled. "You're just too thick to actually think it through!"

"Oh please," he snorted. "Don't act innocent - I know the two of you just _love_ all the attention! Don't worry - I'm sure you'll get plenty more now!"

"You are _insane_!" I yelled. "We didn't enter that damned Tournament!"

"Whatever you say Emily," Ron said with an annoyed eye roll.

He walked off towards the Gryffindor table without another glance in my direction. If I didn't have any self control at all, I would have already knocked him upside the head for even suggesting that this was an attention-seeking stunt. Who did he think he was, accusing us of such things? Why would we want _more_ attention than we already have?

I stood in my spot for a moment before I realized that our little fight had attracted its fair share of attention from some other people that were already seated for their breakfast. I went to go sit down in a seat as far away from Ronald Weasley as humanly possible when I ran directly into someone else.

"Sorry," I muttered.

I looked up and noticed Snape standing in front of me with a raised eyebrow. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to the side of the room where no one could hear what he was saying.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

"No you aren't, you can't trick me," he rolled his eyes. "What about your brother? Is he as miserable as you are?"

"I would imagine so," I said. "Much to your delight…"

"You think that it pleases me to see the two of you risking your lives in some outrageous tournament?" he scoffed. "No, I don't care how much I…dislike the boy…"

"That almost seemed like you were concerned for him for a moment," I said.

"You two were telling the truth, were you not?" he asked, completely ignoring the previous statement.

"We did not enter our names into the Goblet," I said for the millionth time. "Neither of us did."

"Okay, okay," Snape said. "I think I believe you…but your brother-"

"Harry didn't do it," I said bluntly. "I don't care what you think, I know he didn't."

"I didn't say-"

"You said it yesterday actually," I said. "Stop blaming him for everything, it's getting old. He didn't do anything wrong."

"But I-"

"Seriously, stop," I said. "You're acting childish."

"Excuse me," he said. "Don't talk to me like a child!"

"Then stop accusing my brother of doing something that he didn't do."

"Fine," he said.

"Fine," I said.

We looked at each other for another moment and then departed towards our tables. I knew that he wasn't actually going to stop accusing Harry, but I just wanted to make it clear that it was annoying me. There were a lot of things that were annoying me at the moment actually, including the fact that everyone in the room that I passed began to look at me and whisper to their neighbor.

I sat down at the far end of the table, on the entirely opposite side of where Ron was. Not too much longer afterwards, Hermione came down into the room and looked from Ron to me with concern. She sat down next to me and I could feel the looks that Ron was throwing in her direction.

"You're irritating Weasley," I muttered as I stuffed another piece of toast into my mouth angrily.

"Don't worry about Ron," Hermione said looking over at him. "He's acting like a child."

"It seems like a lot of people are acting that way…" I muttered.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but I think that she could see the clear irritation on my face and decided not to say anything yet.

"Would you just go talk to Ron," I said after a moment. "He's irritating me."

She sighed and picked up her books before walking over to the other side of the room where Ron was sitting with Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas. As he began to talk to Hermione, I could see the angry looks that he kept throwing in my direction with every world that he said. I narrowed my eyes in his direction, just as I felt someone sit down next to me.

"Hey," Neville said with a smile until he saw my face expression. "Whoa, what's wrong?"

"Ronald Weasley," I said angrily. "He's being a prick."

"What did he do?" he asked skeptically.

"He doesn't believe us," I explained. "He thinks that we're just trying to get more attention."

"So, he's jealous?" Neville asked as he picked up a piece of bacon.

"Jealous of what?" I asked in surprise.

"Emily, come on, I thought that you were supposed to be the observant one," he said with a laugh. "He's one of your best friends, he's been around both you and Harry since our first year. Think about it from his point of view - you and Harry always get the attention from everyone else, it's never about him. He's probably just sick of being thrown to the sidelines."

My jaw dropped and I looked over at Ron. That really did make since, if you looked at it from his point of view of course. We never did ask for the attention, but we always did get it. Ron never got attention from anyone, whether it be strangers or even his own family. Why hadn't I ever thought of this before?

"I guess you're right…" I sighed. "I don't know why I never noticed before…I guess that he would have noticed that the attention is annoying to us - we don't want it…wait - you aren't angry that we get attention, are you?"

"No," he laughed. "To be honest, I kind of feel bad for you two. I wouldn't want all that attention because of what happened - it's bad enough, isn't it?"

I nodded and thought about what he had told me about his parents. Maybe that was why he never told anyone else, he didn't want sympathy. He would rather just suffer in silence than have the entire school pity him for what had happened. No wonder no one ever knew…

After I was finished eating, I waved to Neville and walked back up to the common room alone. Harry hadn't come down for breakfast that morning, so I decided that he probably either didn't want to face anyone or just didn't get all that much sleep the night before and slept in later than usual. When I got up to the common room, there were several people standing in there. When they saw me, all of them began to cheer and then I looked over and noticed Harry walking towards the door to escape.

"Hey," a voice came behind me. "Do you two want to go for a walk?"

It was Hermione and I knew that she was going to want to talk about what Ron had said. To be honest, I really didn't care what he had to say. He was being a prick and I didn't want to hear all about his complaining that he didn't get enough attention.

"I think I'll just stay in here," I said bluntly. "I already know what you're going to say."

"Okay," she said with a worried look on her face. "Harry?"

"I need to get out of here," he muttered. "See you later."

They both walked out of the common room and I started to walk towards my dorms again for some quiet, when I was stopped by Fred, George, and Lee.

"What do you want?" I asked irritably.

"Wow, calm yourself ginger," Fred laughed.

"Who are you calling ginger?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We need your help," George smiled. "You need to look at some of these products before we release them."

"They're finished?" I asked excitedly.

"That's right," Lee said happily. "I said that we should already be selling them, by George insisted that you see them first."

"She did help to make them," George shrugged.

Happy to discuss anything that didn't have to do with the Triwizard Tournament, I walked over to the corner of the room where the twins kept their stuff. In a secretive sort of manner, Fred pulled out a box from a nearby shelf and placed it on a table in front of me. Slowly, they began to show off the products one by one and telling me what they are used for.

"So, which one do you think is going to sell the most?" Fred asked when he was finished showing all of them.

"Hmmm…" I thought. "I'm not sure. Probably Puking Pastilles and Fever Fudge. People will probably use them to get out of class I suspect."

"That's what we expect too," George said with a smile.

"Maybe you could use them to get you out of some of those tasks," Lee said.

"Yeah, I'm not talking about the Tournament," I said bluntly.

"Why not?" Lee asked. "It's going to be fantastic - I bet you or your brother will win."

"I honestly don't care who wins," I said. "I just plan on trying not to get myself killed - I see that as a true victory."

"Then why did you put your name in the cup?" Lee laughed. "You knew that it was going to be a risk."

"How many times do I have to say that _I didn't put my name in the bloody cup!"_ I said angrily.

I stomped off angrily away from the group towards my dorm where I wouldn't have to talk to anyone anymore. I guess my hopes of people forgetting that I was actually in the Tournament wasn't actually going to work. Why did this have to happen?

I managed to keep myself out of view until class time came around. I walked down to Hagrid's hut alone and managed to find Harry already standing there next to Hermione (Ron was standing on the other side of the crowd with some other people). I stood next to him and watched as the Slytherins approached the hut. This was going to be bad, I could just tell by the smug look on Draco's face when he saw us standing there.

"Look what we have here," Draco smirked. "It's the two Hogwarts champions. I expect that everyone ought to get an autograph - I can't imagine that they'll be around much longer."

Several of his friends laughed at this comment, but everyone in Gryffindor just glared at Malfoy. I know that not a lot of people were very happy about the fact that we were in the competition, but it didn't make them like Malfoy anymore for going against us.

"Don't listen to him," Neville muttered. "He's just angry that it isn't him."

"Is that so Longbottom?" Malfoy laughed. "If I wanted to be in the Tournament, then my name would have been called. I can assure you of that."

"Whatever you say ferret," Neville retorted.

Several Gryffindors started laughing at the comment as Malfoy went red in the face. I guess he's a little more sensitive about that subject than we thought. I smiled up at Neville and mouthed "thanks" just as Hagrid walked out of his hut with a Blast-Ended Shrewt.

"Yer gonna be walkin' 'em today," Hagrid said.

"How do you expect us to do that?" Malfoy asked rudely.

"Just tie a rope 'round their middles," Hagrid said simply.

We all managed to get a rope around them and take them on a little walk. Hagrid made sure to walk closely beside Harry and me as we took our Shrewts around the area.

"So, yer champions then?" Hagrid asked.

"Hagrid-" I started.

"I know ya didn't want ter enter," Hagrid said. "I don't think the to of ya did it."

"Really?" Harry asked in surprise. "Not many people do."

"Well, yer said that ya didn't, right?" Hagrid said. "Dumbledore seems ter believe that yer tellin' the truth, so that's good enough fer me."

"Thanks," we both said with a smile.

Hagrid was one of the very few people that actually believed us. As the day went on, we discovered that not only Slytherin was against us, but Ravenclaw was as well. They were thinking along the same lines as Ron was by believing that we were just out to get more fame for ourselves.

Luckily enough, I was able to avoid them as much as possible outside of class by skipping most meals so they wouldn't see me. I was happy to know that I wasn't in this alone though. Harry, even though he was as miserable as I was, still managed to stick by my side while we were around others to make sure that we weren't harassed too badly. When Harry wasn't around me, Neville was always there to stick up for me, much to my own surprise. I guess that the only person that Neville had trouble with defending was himself.

This was going to be a rough year, I could already tell…

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, I hope that you liked it! I know that it wasn't all that much, but I hope that it wasn't too bad. Tell me what you think and give me any suggestions if you have any!<strong>


	16. Rita Skeeter and the Other Champions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 16**

That afternoon we had Double Potions to attend. Normally this was something that I looked forward to considering Potions was my best subject, but I was absolutely dreading the lesson this time. As usual, we had to share this class with the Slytherins. In other words, Harry and I were going to be mocked the entire class period for being in the Triwizard Tournament. Great.

When we walked into the dungeons after lunch that day, Harry and I were greeted by Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins who were all wearing identical, flashing buttons attached to their chests that read _SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY - THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION!_

"Do you like them Potter?" Draco directed at Harry. "Look - they even change!"

All the Slytherins simultaneously pressed down on their badges and the wording quickly switch to the words _POTTER STINKS!_

I rolled my eyes and quickly thought of something to say back. Instead of directing my words at Draco, I waved to the empty hallway behind him and smiled.

"Hello Professor Moody," I smiled.

Draco jumped back and pushed his way away from the area that I had been talking to. When he saw that no one was actually standing there, his pale face began to redden and he glared over at me.

"You're a jumping little ferret, aren't you?" I said.

Then Hermione came behind us joined by the rest of the Gryffindors that were heading towards Potions class.

"What's going on?" she asked us and then took a look at the badges. "Oh, how funny. You're so witty."

"Would you like one Granger?" Malfoy said, obviously trying to cover up from his previous embarrassment. "You can have one - just don't touch my hand, I just washed them and I don't want a Mudblood sliming them up again."

Quickly, before I could do anything, Harry pulled his wand out of his robes and pointed it directly at Malfoy's chest. Everyone in the area stepped back quickly and formed a circle around Draco and Harry.

"Harry," I said warningly.

"It's not worth it," Hermione joined in.

Draco, who was on the other end of the circle, pulled out his wand with a threatening smile plastered on his face. He pointed it at Harry and everyone began to look at the two boys, waiting for one of them to make the first attack.

"Funnunculus!" Harry shouted.

"Densaugeo!" Draco yelled.

Jets of light shot through the corridor suddenly and began to hit several different walls before they finally managed to hit two different people - Hermione and Goyle.

"Hermione!" I yelled.

Ron and I ran over to where she fell and went to help her up. At that moment I realized, much to my horror, what Draco's spell had done to her. Her two front teeth, which were already large enough to begin with, were now growing at such a rapid pace that she was already resembling a beaver.

"What is going on here?" a voice droned from behind us.

Snape walked slowly into the area where Draco and Harry stood and looked back slowly between the two in silence with a single eyebrow raised in question.

"Potter attacked me-" Draco started.

"They both attacked each other," I interrupted.

Snape looked from each boy and then towards Goyle who now had gigantic boils developing all over his face that were all threatening to burst. I don't think that he actually saw Hermione due to the fact that she was trying her hardest to not be seen by anyone.

"Goyle - go to the hospital wing," Snape muttered.

"What about Hermione?" Ron asked. "Malfoy hit her!"

Snape glanced down at her for a moment with a dull, bored looking expression. Hermione showed her face only for a moment. Her teeth were still growing and it was starting to look frightening.

"I see no difference," Snape said while shrugging his shoulders.

Hermione then burst out into tears and covered her face once again. I tried to help her as I was practically deafened from the sound of Harry and Ron both yelling at Snape and calling him virtually every unkind name that there was in the books. Luckily enough, because they were both yelling, it was almost hard to tell exactly what they were saying.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor," Snape said. "And detention for both Potter and Weasley."

Everyone went silent and looked from Harry to Ron and to Snape waiting for one of them to open their mouths again. When no one did, I turned to Hermione told her to go to the hospital wing - I knew that Snape wouldn't allow anyone to go with her. Once she ran off, I stood back up and glared at Snape.

"Do you have something to say Miss Potter?" Snape asked innocently.

"Actually, I do," I said. "It's funny how you constantly defend Malfoy with everything that he says and does. Do you even know what he did?"

"Do I care?" Snape asked.

"Malfoy called Hermione a Mudblood," I told him. "I would think that it would mean something to you. Maybe I'm wrong."

Snape didn't open his mouth, instead, Malfoy decided to interject.

"That's what she is," he sneered. "A filthy little Mudblood - just like your mother-"

"Detention, Mr. Malfoy!" Snape yelled.

Everyone's jaw dropped, including Malfoy's. Snape had never, and I mean _never_ given a Slytherin detention before. It just wasn't something that he did.

"W-what?" Draco stammered.

"You heard what I said," Snape said coldly. "Everyone get into the classroom."

Everyone slowly and silently entered the dungeons and moved towards their desks. As Snape passed by mine, he looked down at me with a sorrowful look.

"Thank you," I whispered to him.

He nodded once as he continued to walk towards the front of the classroom to give the instructions for what we were going to be doing. As he did, everyone else found their seats. Harry, who always sat in front of Neville and me, was now sitting alone because Ron had found a different seat with Dean and Seamus.

"You will all be preparing antidotes today," Snape said. "At the end of class, I will be selecting someone to test one out on. You may begin."

As I began to make the antidote, I made sure that Neville was watching everything I was doing so he would know how to do it as well. Before I made it too far, the classroom was interrupted by Colin Creevy who came into the dungeons and walked straight up to Snape's desk.

"Yes?" Snape asked rudely.

"I'm supposed to take Harry and Emily Potter upstairs, sir," Colin said happily.

"They both have an hour of Potions to complete," Snape said. "They will go upstairs once the class period is over."

"B-but, sir," Colin said. "Mr. Bagman wants him - all the champions have to go. I think that they want to take photographs."

I could have started beating my head against the desk at that moment. Why did Colin have to mention that we were going to be getting our picture taken? As if people weren't already under the impression that we were just doing this for publicity. Neville looked at me sympathetically and Harry glanced back for a moment and I noticed that we shared the same annoyance with Colin at that moment. When I looked back for a moment to see if Ron had heard as well, I noticed that he was staring up at the ceiling as if determined not to even look in our direction.

"Fine," Snape said suddenly. "Potter - both of you, leave your things here, I'll be testing you later."

"They have to take their things with them, sir," Colin said helplessly.

"Very well!" Snape snapped. "Take your things - both of you."

I grabbed my bag and threw my books into it. Before I left, I made sure to tell Neville to read through each instruction carefully before performing any kind of action. I could only hope that he wouldn't make any mistakes while I was gone. As Harry and I walked out of the room together, I noticed the large amount of _POTTER STINKS_ badges flashing as we left.

Colin led us towards a classroom where Bagman and some other wizards were already standing. The rest of the champions were all already standing in there waiting for everyone else to arrive. Once we got in there, all eyes turned to both of us and Bagman ran over to us cheerfully.

"Champions four and five!" he said happily. "Harry - Emily, come on in. We're doing the wand weighing ceremony-"

"What's that?" I asked suddenly.

"Oh, we just check to make sure that your wands are functioning well," he explained. "We'll be doing that, and you two will also be getting your photos taken as well."

Bagman walked us across the room where a woman wearing magenta robes with huge, blond curls and a heavy-jawed face stood. She was wearing jeweled glasses on her nose and was carrying around a crocodile-skin purse on her side.

"This is Rita Skeeter," Bagman introduced. "She's going to be interviewing you all for a little piece that she's doing for the Prophet about the Triwizard Tournament."

"I was wondering if I could have a little chat with the two of them before we start," she said. "They are the youngest champions after all - their story is quite thrilling."

"Go right ahead!" Bagman said happily.

"One at a time?" she asked.

Without even waiting for a reply, she took Harry by the arm and half-dragged him into a nearby broom cupboard. At that moment, I realized that I was standing in the middle of the room and some people in there were just staring at me. I'm glad that wasn't awkward.

"You are Emily Potter, right?" a deeper voice came from behind me.

I turned around and saw Victor Krum standing alone in a corner of the room. It was amazing how much he looked like his brother, but I could tell them apart just by the looks that they always had on their faces. Victor always appeared to be a bit tense and almost angry looking while Vector appeared slightly more relaxed.

"Yes I am," I said after a moment.

"My brother is quite fond of you," he said. "You two met at the World Cup he tells me."

"We say next to each other," I said.

He nodded slowly and looked around the room a moment before walking slowly over towards me.

"Who is that one girl that you are around a lot?" he asked.

It took me a second to register what exactly he had just asked me and then I thought of Hermione immediately.

"Hermione Granger?" I suggested. "What about her?"

"Nothing..." he mumbled. "I just...was interested...in knowing her name...that's all..."

I raised an eyebrow and turned to notice that Harry was walking out of the broom cupboard with Rita Skeeter. She walked over to me quickly and grabbed me by the arm with a smile and began to drag me.

"Excuse me," I said taking her hand off my arm. "I have the ability to walk, you don't have to drag me."

"Oh, right..." she said with narrowed eyes.

We walked into the broom closet and I sat down on a nearby box and she pulled out a quill and a notepad that began to float in the air and write on its own.

"What is that?" I asked curiously.

"It's a Quick-Quotes Quill," she said. "It allows me to talk freely during interviews."

I nodded and stared up at the quill as it began to move frantically along the page, already writing down something that I couldn't necessarily see.

"So, why did you enter the Tournament?" she asked suddenly. "Personal glory, to help your brother-"

"I didn't enter," I interrupted her. "Someone else put my name in there."

"Your brother perhaps?" she asked.

"Harry wouldn't-"

"How do you feel about the upcoming tasks?"

"The what - oh, I suppose that I'm..."

"Nervous? Excited? Ready to prove yourself?"

"I suppose that I'm nervous."

"Are you worried about your brother at all?"

"Of course I'm worried about my brother."

I looked over at the quill that began writing even faster than before. On the parchment, I could just barely make out the words that were being written.

Young Emily Potter's beautiful green eyes begin to glisten with tears at the thought of losing yet another family member.

"I am not crying!" I said defensively.

At that moment, the door to the cupboard opened suddenly. Dumbledore stood at the door with a small smile as he looked between Rita Skeeter and myself.

"The Weighing of the Wands is about to begin," Dumbledore told us. "I believe that Miss Potter is going to need to be present for this."

"Of course, of course," Rita Skeeter said quickly. "Off you go!"

I walked quickly over to where the other champions were standing and stood next to Harry who had a puzzled look on his face. He wanted to know what Rita Skeeter had asked me. I couldn't half blame him either because I wanted to ask him the very same thing. Everyone else in the room stood ready as Dumbledore took his place at the judges table and Rita Skeeter set up her Quick-Quotes Quill nearby.

"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" Dumbledore said as he motioned towards a nearby window.

Mr. Ollivander, who had been standing quietly in the room before, walked over toward us all and held out his hand to Fleur.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, may I see your wand?" he asked politely.

She stepped towards Mr. Ollivander and handed over her wand. Once he had it in his hand, Mr. Ollivander began to twirl it around his fingers and it began to shoot off gold and pink sparks from the tip of it.

"Hmm..." he said to himself. "Nine and a half inches...inflexible...rosewood...and containing..."

"A 'air from ze 'ead of a veela," Fleur spoke up. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

Ollivander nodded his head and simply waved the wand around as a bunch of flowers magically came from the wand.

"Very good, your wand is in fine working order," Mr. Ollivander said. "Mr. Diggory, you're up next."

Cedric stepped up towards Mr. Ollivander and handed over his wand to him.

"I gave you this wand, didn't I?" he said happily. "I remember this one well - one hair from a unicorn, twelve and a quarter inch, ash, pleasantly springy. It's in fine working condition!"

He handed the wand back to Cedric and then turned back to the rest of the champions.

"Mr. Krum, your wand?" Ollivander asked.

Victor stepped forward and handed the wand over angrilly.

"This is a Gregorovitch wand, unless I am mistaken...hornbeam and dragon heartstring, quite rigid, ten and a quarter inches..."

Ollivander waved the wand quickly and out from it came a number of birds that flew directly out of the window.

"Excellent!" he said as he handed the wand back over to Victor. "Mr. Potter, you're next."

Harry stepped forward slowly and handed the wand to Ollivander.

"I remember giving you this wand very well, Mr. Potter," Ollivander said slowly. "Holly, eleven inches long, phoenix feather..."

He waved the wand and a fountain of wine erupted from the end of it. Ollivander handed the wand back to Harry.

"Very good!" he said. "I believe that leaves you Miss Potter."

I stepped forward just as everyone else had and handed my wand over to Ollivander.

"I remember your wand just as well," Ollivander said. "Fir, ten and three quarters inches, phoenix feather..."

He waved my wand in the air and a single rose blossomed out from it. He handed me back my wand and the rose and I walked back over to where the rest of the champions stood.

After that, we all took our group and individual photos. It was actually extremely awkward to do because I have never had a photo taken of me professionally before and I also knew what was to become of this pictures. No doubt that they would lead people to believe the same thing as Ron did - we just wanted attention.

I was extremely happy when they announced that we were finished and we could leave the room. Harry and I all but ran out of the room and were the first ones to leave.

"I don't like that Skeeter woman," Harry told me as we walked towards the Great Hall.

"Me either," I said. "She's going to make everything worse for us, I can already tell."

"She made up some lie that I was crying during my interview with her," Harry said. "She mentioned our parents and that quill was writing that I was crying because of their memories or something like that."

"She did that with me too!" I said. "She said that I was crying at the thought of losing another family member!"

"I guess that she's really trying to get people's attention or something," Harry said. "Just what we need...more attention..."

"As if we don't get enough already," I said while rolling my eyes.

Once we got to the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, we made sure to sit on the complete opposite side of the table than Ron. He had made it a point to avoid us as much as he could, so we were going to do the same. No one else really sat next to us other than Neville. I guess that Ron wasn't the only one avoiding us.

"What happened in Potions after we left?" I asked Neville.

"Nothing much really," he said. "Snape seemed to be in a worse mood, but I didn't make anything explode for once."

"Did you follow the instructions like I told you?" I asked him skeptically.

"Of course I did," Neville said innocently. "You already told me how to make it before class anyway, so I didn't mess up."

"Good," I smiled.

"How did the Triwizard thing go?" Neville asked. "What did they do?"

"They just checked out our wands and took some pictures," I said. "That awful Rita Skeeter woman was there too..."

"Oh no, what did she do?"

"She interviewed us both," I said.

"She was making up all sorts of lies..." Harry muttered.

"That's Rita Skeeter for you," Neville said. "My Gran is always complaining about her - says that she couldn't tell the truth if her life depended on it."

"I wouldn't doubt that," I muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! Tell me what you think and give me any suggestions if you have any! I would also like to thank everyone that has given me suggestions previously, they will definitely be used - THANK YOU! :D<strong>


	17. Make a Move George

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 17**

After we had finished eating, Harry and I decided to go up to the hospital wing to visit Hermione. She didn't want us to stay very long though because she was still extraordinarily embarrassed about her now enormous front teeth. They hadn't made them smaller yet, but they had managed to stop them from growing.

Once we had left, Harry decided to go up into the common room and I left towards the courtyard just outside of the castle in hopes that I wouldn't have to face anyone out there for a little while anyway. To my disappointment though, I wasn't the only one in the courtyard.

"Hello Emily," Vector smiled.

"Hey," I smiled back. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just looking for some quiet," he sighed. "What about you?"

"I was looking for the same," I sighed.

He nodded and we both sat down on a nearby bench and just looked around. We stayed silent for a moment, just watching the trees flowing in the wind

"So...how did you get your name in the Goblet of Fire?" Vector asked casually.

"I didn't put my name in that cup!" I said angrily. "How many times do I have to say that?"

At that moment, Vector began to laugh at me. That made me angrier. How could he laugh at me? What was funny at all about this situation? I stood up to leave when Vector took me by the hand and stood up with me.

"Don't go," he said innocently. "I've heard that you and your brother have been telling everyone that you didn't enter - I was just joking around."

"Well, it's not funny," I said. "So don't do that. Everyone has been bothering us about it since it happened."

Vector nodded sympathetically, but I could tell that he didn't fully believe me. I guess that I couldn't really blame people for thinking that we were lying, it did sound like a bad lie. If only people could understand that we didn't want this.

"I'm really sorry," he said honestly. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"If you want to talk to me, why don't you?" I asked him. "Not many people are talking to me now anyway considering what has happened with the Tournament."

"I just...get embarrassed to talk around you," Vector admitted. "I haven't met many girls like you."

"You don't know me all that well Vector," I said. "We haven't really talked all that much."

"I know...that's my fault," he said while looking at the ground. "I'm not all that great at talking to girls..."

It was then that I realized that not only that Vector was still holding onto my hand but he was looking at me in a way that appeared to be admiration.

"You're really beautiful..." he said.

"T-thank you," I smiled.

He pushed a strand of hair out of my face and then started to move closer to me. Just before he was inches away from my own face, I heard a voice coming from the castle.

"Emily?"

I backed away from Vector and noticed George standing at the entrance to the courtyard. He was walking slowly towards us and I quickly jerked my hand away from Vector's.

"Hey George," I said innocently.

I then noticed that George and Vector were having a practical stare down, both of their eyes narrowed and unblinking.

"It was nice talking to you Vector, but I think I need to go now," I said while throwing looks at George.

"I'll talk to you again soon," he said as he took my hand and kissed it.

I half expected to see steam begin to roll out of George's ears because of how angry he looked. In fact, I've never seen him look this angry before in all the time that I had known him. Luckily, as soon as Vector did that, he began to walk off before George could say anything.

I looked at George for a moment as he glared in Vector's direction and then walked back into the castle. It took a second, but before long I heard the angry footsteps of George catch up to me.

"Who does he think he is?" George asked me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Emily," George said quickly. "He's messing around with you and I don't like it..."

"What does it matter to you?" I asked coldly.

"Because...well, you know..." he stammered, his face going a bit red. "The boy doesn't even know you - he's just playing with you!"

"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" I snapped.

"What are you talking about?" George asked, completely dumbfounded.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," I said angrily as I started walking faster. "Don't play stupid, though I'm sure it comes naturally."

"What did I do?" he asked.

"It's what you haven't done George," I snapped. "Think real hard, I'm sure you'll come up with it eventually."

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child!" he yelled.

I stopped in my tracks and turned on him quickly.

"Then stop acting like one!" I yelled. "Don't get angry at me when other guys start talking to me just because you don't have the courage to do it yourself!"

George stood there for the first time without words. I waited for a moment for him to say something, but when he didn't, I stormed off towards the Gryffindor Tower and ignored all the looks I was getting on my way there.

After going through the portrait hole, I found Harry sitting in a chair around the fire with a note in hand. He looked up for a moment when he saw me.

"What happened?" he asked as he folded up the letter.

"It's nothing important," I muttered. "Who is the letter from?"

"It's Sirius," he said, still looking at me with concern. "He's worried about us being in the Tournament and wants to talk to us - are you sure that you're okay?"

I uncrossed my arms and sat down in attempt to calm myself. I knew that Harry didn't actually believe that there wasn't anything wrong with me, I wasn't ever good at lying to him about how I am feeling.

"I tell you in a minute," I said quickly. "How exactly does Sirius plan on talking with us?"

"I'm not sure," Harry said thoughtfully. "He mentioned in this letter that he'll be meeting us in the common room on the night of the twenty-second."

"In the common room?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm not sure where he's going with that. Do you think he's planning on just walking into the castle?"

"I seriously doubt that," I said. "He's got something planned out. He isn't going to get caught, this is Sirius we're talking about."

"That's true..." Harry said. "You know Ron just spoke to me?"

"Really?" I asked, completely surprised. "What did he say?"

"Well, it wasn't much," Harry shrugged. "He just told me that we had a letter. I'm just shocked that he said anything at all..."

I looked up at Harry and for the first time I noticed how much it was bothering him that Ron wasn't talking to him. I knew that he was upset about it, but I knew now that he really missed his good friend. I was friends with Ron too, but I think that this argument was affecting Harry more than anything right now.

"I'm sure he'll come around," I sighed.

"Yeah..." Harry murmured.

We were silent for a moment before Harry looked back up at me.

"What happened before you came in here?" he asked.

"Oh..." I mumbled. "It was just George...he's being a bit of a prick..."

"Why? What did he do?" Harry asked quickly.

"Well, I was actually talking to Vector in the courtyard when he found me," I explained. "Vector tried to kiss me when George came around and it really made him mad."

"Vector tried to kiss you?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I don't know what got into him," I sighed. "Well, when he left, George started freaking out and I told him to stop freaking out every time a guy comes around me and that he needs to stop being jealous if he isn't even going to make a move anyway."

"George is afraid to make a move," Harry said simply.

"Well he needs to get over it," I said. "Does he really expect no other guy to talk to me though? How can he get angry at me for that?"

"You were about to kiss Vector," Harry pointed out. "Of course he would be jealous about that."

"I wasn't actually going to let him kiss me," I said defensively. "I hardly know the guy."

"But he doesn't know that," he said.

"I guess you're right..." I sighed.

* * *

><p>That night wasn't the last that I'd heard from Vector Krum. Ever since that night, he constantly found me in between classes to talk to me and would always try to woo me in some way, much to George's dislike. He wasn't the only one that was getting tired of Vector's presence though - he was started to get on my nerves as well.<p>

Maybe if I were any other girl, I would have enjoyed all the attention that I was getting from this boy. But I wasn't that kind of girl. I didn't enjoy the constant badgering with compliments, it seriously bothered me. So, after a while, I began to avoid Vector at every cost.

It wasn't long afterwards that Rita Skeeter's article came out in the Prophet. It was even worse than I expected because practically the entire article was about Harry and me - hardly any of it was true. When the paper arrived to me one morning, I read every sentence of it with complete disgust.

_"I suppose my greatest fear is that my brother will get harmed," Emily Potter admitted with tears falling from her eyes. "I just couldn't bear the thought of losing another family member!"_

Later in the article, I found another lie that stunned me.

_Both of the Potter twins have found love at Hogwarts despite all of their troubles with their personal life on the upside! It was revealed through Colin Creevy, one of the Potters close friends, that both have had their fair share of scandals when it comes to romance. _

_Harry has been revealed to be hanging around the beautiful Hermione Granger ever since their very first year - could this be the year that Harry gets the girl of his dreams?_

_Mr. Creevy also revealed that Emily has been caught up in quiet the love scandal. The twin brother of Victor Krum - Vector - has been fancying her ever since they met at the Quidditch World Cup, but apparently she isn't the least bit interested because she has been chased around by two other boys by the names of Neville Longbottom and George Weasley._

_"I thought that her and Neville had been dating to be honest," admitted Pavarti Patil, a fellow Gryffindor and close friend of Emily's. "They are always around each other!"_

_"l thought that she was dating George Weasley," Padma Patil, a Ravenclaw, said. "The two are inseparable!"_

_So who is Emily Potter dating? Or is she just playing with these young boy's hearts? I guess that you'll have to wait to find out!_

I slammed the paper down in anger and shot a look over at the Patil twins. I doubted that they had actually said these things to Rita Skeeter, but they had obviously talked to her at some point.

"She makes me out to be the school tramp!" I said angrily. "Who does she think she is?"

"She's Rita Skeeter - that's what she does," Harry sighed as he spread jam over top of his toast.

Completely annoyed, I folded up the Prophet and shoved it out of my way so I wouldn't have to look at it. Just as I picked up a cup of orange juice to drink, Neville came over to sit down next to Harry and me.

"Wait, can I sit here?" Neville asked skeptically.

"Neville, you sit next to us every day," I said in confusion.

"Well, I don't know if I should," Neville said with a smirk. "This could just be another way to play with my heart."

I shot him a look and he started laughing as he took a seat next to me.

"You're hilarious," I chuckled.

"I wonder if Hermione read the article..." Harry said thoughtfully.

As it turned out, she had read the article and so did a whole lot of other people that decided to make fun of us all the rest of the day.

"Where do they get that Granger is pretty?" Pansy snickered. "Unless of course you're comparing her to a chipmunk!"

"Ignore them Harry," Hermione said. "It doesn't matter."

It also turned into some kind of awful scene when we went into Potions class and I sat down next to Neville.

"Don't get your hopes up Longbottom," Malfoy said.

Several Slytherins started laughing and I rolled my eyes. It didn't seem to bother Neville at all, but I couldn't just let Draco get away with it though.

"He's just saying that because I refused to date him last year," I said.

Malfoy's face reddened up and he sank down in his chair in embarrassment as all the Gryffindor's laughed at him. It was at that moment that I realized that our promise to be "friends" wasn't actually going through. Then again, I think that it was more his fault than it was mine - I wasn't the one who started it...

For the most part though, people didn't make the article out to be much of anything. I believed that, for the most part, that everyone knew that everything in it was a downright lie. However, I found it a little odd that people hadn't made a single comment about the accusation of George and I dating. When I asked Harry about it one day during meal times, he started laughing.

"That's probably because everyone really thought the two of you were dating," he said. "It probably came as a shock that you weren't."

"But-" I started.

"Emily, you have to admit that it's believable," Hermione said. "People only made the comment about you and Neville dating out to be a joke because everyone knows that you two are just friends."

"I could very well be dating Neville," I said in defense. "I'm around him almost as much as I'm around George."

"Well Neville is...well, he's Neville," Harry laughed. "Why would anyone want to date him?"

"That's horrible," I said hitting him in the arm. "Neville's a great guy - anyone would be lucky to have him!"

Luckily enough, people began to slowly forget about the article as our trip to Hogsmeade came slowly around. When the day actually came, I decided to stay back because I really didn't want to be around so many people.

Once I saw Hermione and Harry off, I decided that I would go around the school and see if Snape was still around. I had been wanting to talk to him for a while because I hadn't really gotten the chance to since the year started because of all the nonsense that was going on. When I went down towards the dungeons, I could smell potions brewing and I knew that he hadn't gone along on the trip to Hogsmeade.

"Come in," he droned as I knocked on the doorframe.

I stepped in and saw several cauldrons going on at once and he was pacing around each of them and occasionally stirring one every now and then.

"What are you making?" I asked.

"Just a few potions for the hospital wing..." he murmured. "Is something bothering you?"

"Oh, nothing at all," I sighed. "Unless you count being an unwanted 'champion' of the Triwizard Tournament and being hated by the entire school."

"Not the entire school..." he commented. "And they don't hate you - they just think you're lying."

"Yeah, because that's so much better," I said sarcastically.

Snape smirked as he threw in another ingredient to a few of the potions. Then I got to thinking about something.

"Do you..." I hesitated. "Do you think we're lying?"

Snape stopped what he was doing and set down his wand and looked up at me and sighed.

"I believe you..." he said slowly. "But I don't understand what's going on...who could have put your names in the Goblet? Why would they do that - was it just a stupid trick? Is it like Moody said and it's a murder plot? I just...I don't know..."

"I've been asking myself the same things," I sighed. "It's really hard to tell though...I'm glad that you've come around to believing us - not many have."

"You can't really blame them, it does sound like a lie," Snape muttered.

"I know..." I said. "But I don't want this..."

I looked down at the ground and just thought. For the first time, I actually got to thinking about the actual Tournament. What were they going to have us do? Would we even make it through to the second task? Even though Harry and I did well in school, we still lacking the knowledge that the other three contestants had.

I was interrupted from my thoughts when Snape put out the burners under the cauldrons and stepped away from them and towards me.

"Please be careful..." he said quietly and not meeting my eyes. "A lot of people have died in this tournament..."

"I know they do..." I said.

Snape nodded slowly and sympathetically. Then he finally looked up into my eyes and had that familiar twitch in his eye. To this day, I still couldn't tell what that was about but it had become such a normality that I hardly noticed it anymore.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked slowly.

"I hope..." I said quietly. "But...I-I'm scared Severus..."

"I would be worried if you weren't," he said.

"Not for me," I said. "For my brother - how could I live with myself if something happens to him?"

"You're brother's going to be fine," Snape said. "He's...can be smart about things when he wants to be."

"Wow, that was almost a compliment," I smirked. "If only Harry was here to hear that one."

"Don't worry - it won't happen again," Snape said with a small smile.

He waved his wand in the air a few times and the potions all flew out of their cauldrons and into separate vials. He took them in his hands and started to move slowly towards the door. He waved at me as if he wanted to follow him and I obeyed.

We walked up a few flights of steps before we caught sight of anyone. When we did see someone, I suddenly got the urge to run in the opposite direction. It was Vector.

"Emily!" he called with a smile.

I groaned quietly, but apparently not quiet enough that Snape couldn't hear me. I looked over at him as we both stopped and he raised a single eyebrow in a silent question.

I glanced back over to see Vector walking up to us both with a large smile on his face. I don't know what it was, but there was just something about being around him for the past couple of days that bothered me. He was a nice guy, there was no doubt about that, but he just...wasn't my type exactly. He was a little too clingy and entirely too nice, if that even made sense.

"Hello Emily," he said happily.

"Vector," I said with a fake smile.

Vector smiled innocently towards Snape who glared at him as if he was some sort of vermin. This didn't seem to bring his mood down at all though because he turned back to me with a large smile.

"I've been looking for you for a while - I heard that you weren't going to Hogsmeade," he said. "I was hoping that I could convince you to stop by the Three Broomsticks with me. You know, have a date or something."

"Well, I-" I started.

"Not if you don't want to of course," he said quickly.

I looked desperately up at Snape in hopes that he could help me. He gets the hint.

"I actually require Miss Potter's assistance at the moment," he says.

Vector looks over at Snape as if he's shocked that he even speaks. Maybe he forgot that he was there or something.

"Oh, perhaps next time?" he asks me.

"Okay," I smile innocently. "Next time it is."

Then he waved to me as Snape and I continued up to the hospital wing to deliver the potions. When we got a good distance away, he spoke up once again.

"What was that about?" he asked curiously.

"He's been following me around a lot lately," I said. "I just need a good break from him."

"Why - did he do something wrong?"

"Well, no," I admitted. "He's just-"

"Not George Weasley?" he suggested suddenly.

My jaw dropped. How did he know that was bothering me? How did he know that that was the reason I kept turning this poor boy away. It was true though. I was afraid that by accepting Vector into my life that it would turn George away from me completely.

"You aren't getting any younger dear," Snape sighed. "Maybe you should take a chance with this boy - Vector is it? Mr. Weasley might get the hint if he sees you with another boy that he has to hurry up and make a move."

So this is what it had come to. I was getting relationship advice from a teacher and not just any teacher either. Maybe I should listen to him - he is right, I'm not getting any younger by just waiting for George to make a move.

"Are you suggesting that I make him jealous?" I asked suddenly.

"Not exactly that, just open his eyes a bit," Snape said. "Now I believe that an opportunity has just presented itself to do just that, so I suggest you take it now."

"Now?"

Snape nodded and gestures back for me to go in the direction of Vector Krum. I nodded and with a smile I went back down the stairs and found Vector walking back down the hall.

"Vector!" I called.

He stopped in his tracks and smiled at the sight of me.

"I think I could go for a butterbeer right now," I smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope you liked it! I do realize that I went a little out of character with Snape during the last bit, sorry about that. What do you think of this developing relationship between Vector and Emily? Do you think George will finally get the hint and make a move? Or do you think that Emily is going in the wrong direction in trying to make him jealous? You tell me!<strong>


	18. He Isn't You

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 18**

The Three Broomsticks was very crowded and loud, but Vector and I managed to find an empty table in the back of the room to sit at. I looked around momentarily to see if I could find Hermione in that mix because I knew that Harry had brought his Invisibility Cloak so he wouldn't gain any attention. They weren't there though, so it was only going to be Vector and me.

On the way there, I tried to decide why I was actually doing this. I didn't want to believe that it was to make George jealous like Snape had suggested because I knew that if it did work out like that, it would hurt George and that wasn't what I wanted. As we made it to the booth, I decided that this was just me giving Vector a chance and nothing more than that.

"So what made you decide to do this anyway," Vector asked as we took a seat at the booth on opposite sides of one another. "You know, go on a date with me."

"My teacher convinced me actually," I said honestly.

"The mean looking one?" he asked. "I got the impression that he hated me."

"He gives a lot of people that impression," I smiled. "But he's a really good man if you actually get to know him a bit."

The waitress came over to ask us for our orders before Vector could make a reply. I was kind of happy she did interrupt because I wasn't exactly looking forward to him making another cut on Snape, a man that he had only actually met for five seconds.

"So, do you have any idea of what the first task is going to be?" Vector asked suddenly.

"No, they didn't tell us because it's supposed to test your daring," I said. "But, no offense, I would rather not talk about the Tournament if that's okay."

"No that's fine," he smiled.

After that, he stayed true to his word and didn't bring the tournament back up. For the remainder of the time, we both talked about our lives at home. His life seemed to be simple outside his brother being a famous Quidditch player. What he found most fascinating about me was the fact that I had to live amongst Muggles when I wasn't at school. He kept asking all about their lives and found it so odd that they could live such a simple life without magic.

When the time finally came to head back to the castle, I began to think that the date went pretty well. That was when he took me by my hand. It felt weird and unnatural. I didn't like it. I tried to hold on as long as possible, but then I took my hand back and gained a surprised look from him.

"I'm sorry..." I said. "It's just...I don't know..."

"It's okay," he said with a forced smile. "Don't worry about it."

I don't know why it was so weird though. I had just spent the entire afternoon with him and I wouldn't even allow him to do as much as hold my hand. We walked into the Great Hall in an awkward silence and when we went to depart, he took my hand once again and kissed in gently.

"Thank you for allowing me to take your time this evening," he said with a smile.

I smiled back and then went off to my seat at the Gryffindor table. I sat next to Harry, Hermione, and Neville as usual and after a moment, I noticed that they were all staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"What were you doing with Vector Krum?" Harry asked.

"You went on a date with him, didn't you Emily?" Neville asked while nudging me playfully.

"Knock it off," I laughed and nudged him back.

"How did it go?" Hermione asked.

"It was nice..." I said slowly. "But it was really awkward at the end..."

"Why, what did he do to you?" Harry asked quickly.

"Calm down Harry, he only held my hand," I laughed. "It was just weird...I don't know why though..."

"Maybe because you wished it was someone else," Hermione said in a sing-song voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said as I grabbed for some food on the table.

"Ah, young love," Neville sighed. "It's so innocent."

I rolled my eyes and continued on with dinner as usual. Once we were all done, we made our way up the Gryffindor common room.

"Hey Emily," Harry said and pulled me off to the side where no one could listen in. "Hagrid wants us to meet up with him around midnight - says he wants to show us something."

"What about Sirius," I whispered. "We're supposed to meet him tonight - we have to be here."

"I know," Harry said. "I was thinking that maybe I would just go down to meet Hagrid and you could stay up here in case I don't make it back in time. I'll tell you what Hagrid wants when I get back up here."

"That'll work," I nodded.

After that was all worked out, I thought about starting on my homework when I caught sight of George sitting on a couch and looking blankly into the fire. What had gotten into him?

I walked over and took a seat next to him and he glanced over a moment as if to acknowledge that I had sat next to him. He still had that hallow look to him, but when he started talking he put on a small smile as if to mask it.

"How's it going Potter?" he asked as he nudged my arm playfully.

"Good, I guess," I said while nudging him back. "What about you Weasley? Everything okay with you?"

"Sure, nothing to report..." he said.

I nod slowly, but I still had the feeling that something was bothering him. I could see past the cheerful mask that he was putting on.

"So...how was your date with Vector...?" George asked suddenly.

By the look on his face, I could tell that this question had been pressing on his mind for a while now. How did he know that we had been on a date? I didn't see him at all throughout the entire ordeal. Had he simply gotten a glimpse of us while I wasn't looking? It was hard to tell.

"It was...nice, I guess," I said without meeting his eyes.

"You guess?" George asked.

"It was a bit awkward to be honest," I admitted with a small laugh.

"Why?" George asked as he suddenly became interested in cleaning out his nails, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Well, it was fine when we were just talking," I told him. "But it got weird when he tried to hold my hand..."

"It's a date, that's what people do Emily," George laughed.

"I know, it was just weird because..." I started but then trailed off before I could say anything else.

"Because...?" he asked.

"Because it wasn't you..." I said quietly.

George's head jerked up quickly and looked at me curiously. We didn't say anything for a moment, but as soon as he opened his mouth to say something, we were interrupted by someone.

"Hey," Harry said as he passed by us. "Vector is outside looking for you."

"Seriously?" George asked Harry in disbelief. "Every time mate, every time..."

He stood up and walked over to where Fred and Lee were leaving Harry completely confused. He looked at me and held up his hands in question.

"What did I do?" Harry asked innocently.

"You're killing me Harry..." I laughed. "What does Vector want anyway?"

"No idea," Harry shrugged as he sat down in an armchair.

"Great, well tell him that I'm busy," I said as I started walking away.

"But I just sat down," Harry complained.

"Well I just stopped caring," I laughed. "Go tell him!"

Harry groaned, but eventually he went out of the common room to send Vector away. I didn't want to talk to him at the moment because I didn't want to start any more drama than there already was. When Harry came back in, he had a message.

"He wanted to apologize for making things awkward earlier, that's all," Harry said as he sat back down.

"Great..." I muttered.

For the remainder of that night, we sat around waiting for the common room to clear out. In that time, I managed to finish up all of my homework and even found time to help Harry and Neville with their Potions essay. All throughout the remainder of the night, I kept looking up to notice George staring over at me and every time I caught his eyes he would turn red and look in another direction quickly.

Finally, everyone cleared the room other than Harry, Hermione, and me by the time eleven thirty rolled around. When it did, Harry pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and went off to Hagrid's hut to see what he wanted. Once he left, Hermione volunteered to stay up a bit while Harry was gone.

"So...what did George say?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Are you really still on about this?" I laughed.

"Yes - did he say anything?" she repeated quickly.

"No, he didn't," I answered. "It's all Harry's fault too - he was about to say something when Harry interrupted him like he always does."

The last time I could recall Hermione looking this disappointed was when she was told that house-elves worked for Hogwarts. Her face expression literally fell because of my answer.

"Emily, I'm honestly going to murder your brother," she said.

"Get in line," I laughed.

We talked for a good hour before she looked as though she was going to pass out from exhaustion and I told her to go up to bed. She didn't argue at all and went up leaving me alone in the common room.

That's when I got to thinking about how Sirius was planning on showing up here. It still blew my mind that I was even going to get to see our godfather - it had been so long! I looked around the room for a moment wondering where Harry could possibly be doing right now. What had Hagrid wanted to show us? Could it do anything with some crazy animal that he had bought from a sketchy person at the pub? Or was it actually something that had a purpose? It was really hard to tell when it came to Hagrid.

I looked down at the fire for a minute and saw something, or someone oddly familiar. It was Sirius, that's all. Wait a minute-

"SIRIUS?" I asked in a loud whisper.

"Shhh!" he hushed me. "Do you want me to get caught in here?"

It was odd, I had never seen anything like it before. It was only Sirius's head that was appearing out of the fire and it appeared to be on fire itself. How was he doing that - oh, wait. Magic, of course.

"Oh, sorry," I apologized. "How are you?"

"Better actually," he nodded. "Wait - where's Harry?"

"Oh, he's with Hagrid," I explained. "He should be here soon."

Sirius nodded and looked around for a minute, probably making sure that I was really alone. I could tell that he was being honest about feeling better based on the way that he was looking. The last time we had seen each other, Sirius had looked rather frail and gaunt in appearance, but now he looked a lot younger and healthy in comparison to the last time that I had seen him.

"How have you been?" Sirius asked me. "I haven't heard from you in a while - it's mostly been Harry whose been writing."

"I'm…okay I guess," I sighed. "It could be worse I suppose."

"What do you think about being in the Triwizard Tournanment?" he asked.

"I hate the whole idea," I scoffed. "I wish they would just say that we were simply too young to participate and let us go on. It's getting ridiculous with all this hype people are making about it. Not to mention that over half of the school hates our guts at this point. I can only hope that we make it out of this alive. Do you have any idea who could have done this?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," he sighed.

I looked around at the door for a moment and towards the clock. Where was Harry? Maybe what Hagrid was showing him was actually important. That or he couldn't get away from him to come back up here.

"What's this I hear from Rita Skeeter that-" Sirius started.

"It's a lie," I said quickly. "That whole bloody article is compete and utter filth."

"I could have guessed that much," Sirius said with a faint smile. "I've been trying to figure out what the first task is going to be - do you have any idea-?"

Suddenly I heard the door open and I quickly stood in front of the fire to keep Sirius from being seen. I didn't see anyone for a moment, but then I watched as my brother virtually appeared out of thin air before me. Judging by his face expression, I could tell that whatever he had seen wasn't pleasant.

"Dragons - they're the first task," he said breathlessly.

"W-what?" I stammered. "We have to fight off a _dragon_?"

"That's what Hagrid said," Harry said and then looked towards the fire. "Sirius?"

I stepped aside and looked down to see Sirius smiling up at Harry. My brother set down the Invisibility Cloak and ran over to sit next to the fire. As he did, he began to explain everything that Hagrid had shown him. Apparently, hidden in the Forbidden Forest, were five dragons - all fully grown and threatening. According to Harry, the first task is going to require the champion to try to take an egg from a dragon in order to move on to the next one.

"Great," I muttered. "I'm glad it's not dangerous."

I heard a creak up above us and I stood up quickly and looked towards the door. Harry looked up too and moved to block the fire.

"I'll go see if anyone's coming," I said quietly.

Harry nodded and I started moving up the steps to look around a little. From the steps, I couldn't see anyone coming at all. It was completely silent aside from the quiet voices I could hear from Harry and Sirius in the common room. I walked back quietly and sat down next to the fire.

"Use your wits with these dragons," Sirius was telling Harry. "They can't be taken down with your average spells - they were entirely too big and strong for those. What you have to do is-"

The creaking started up again and I distinctly heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Someone was coming in the common room.

"Go!" Harry said quietly to Sirius. "Someone's coming!"

Quickly, Sirius's face vanished from the fire. Where his face had just been was now just a small flame that was starting to die out. The footsteps stopped at the edge of the steps and I looked up to see Ron standing there looking around.

"Oh, it's you two…" he muttered. "I heard someone talking."

"What's it to you anyway?" Harry snarled.

Ron looked up, his tired eyes showed that it took a second to recognize what Harry had said. His eyes narrowed and he went a little red around the ears.

"Sorry for disturbing you two," he scoffed. "I suppose you were just practicing for interviews."

Harry quickly picked up something on a nearby table and threw it directly at Ron's head. When it fell to the ground at his feet, I saw that it was one of those badges that Draco had been giving away. The only difference between these and the ones that we saw before was that it now said _POTTER REALLY STINKS!_ on it.

"Something for you to wear on Tuesday," Harry snarled.

My brother practically stomped passed Ron and shoved him on his way up the stairs towards his bed. I stood there for a moment or two before I looked back at Ron who was now looking at the ground. I'm slightly shocked that he didn't try to hit Harry, I know that I would have if I was him.

"I know that it doesn't matter, but I'm sorry," I said quietly. "About everything…"

He looked at me, surprised. I was actually somewhat surprised that I had said it myself. But it was true, I was sorry. I know that Ron had been a jerk about the whole situation, but if I put myself in his shoes then I could see why he was angry with us too. I hope that one day that he'd realize that we didn't want any of the attention that we got.

Before he could say anything, though I doubt that he would have, I walked passed him towards my bed so that I could sleep for the night. Though I seriously doubt that I would get any sleep at the thought of having to face a fully grown dragon any day now…

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - sorry that it's late, I've had a lot to do! Even so, I do hope that you enjoy the chapter (tell me what you think)! By the way, has anyone heard any more news about the new book that J.K. Rowling is going to be writing? I know that it's supposed to be geared more towards adult readers, but that's pretty much it. Does anyone have any idea on what it's on? Just wondering!<strong>

**By the way, did anyone catch the reference that I made back to the Potter Twins and the Chamber of Secrets?**


	19. I Have to Fight What?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor will I ever own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 19**

"You have to do what?" Neville asked at breakfast on Sunday morning.

"Fight off a dragon," I repeated quietly. "We aren't exactly supposed to know, so don't go shouting about it."

It occurred to me this morning that I had absolutely no idea how I would even begin to get passed a dragon without getting killed and the idea that I had to actually take something from it was a rather frightening thought to say the least. To be honest, I would be completely shocked if I made it out of this alive.

"Any ideas?" I whispered.

"You're asking me?" Neville laughed. "I can hardly perform simple spells, let alone something that can help you with a dragon."

Harry came over towards us and sat down on the opposite side while looking in every direction. It appeared as though he was looking for someone, but I couldn't imagine who that would be at the moment.

"Have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I don't think that she's come down yet," I said. "She was still asleep when I left."

"You also wake up before anyone else," Harry said.

It was true, I was somewhat of an early riser at Hogwarts. It wasn't uncommon for me to be the first one out of bed in the morning, but I normally didn't leave the tower until someone else woke up - it was rather awkward to eat breakfast alone.

"What do you need her for?" I asked curiously.

Harry glanced sideways at Neville for a moment as if he didn't want to talk about it in front of him. That led me to believe that it had something to do with either the Tournament or Sirius, both of which I had already told Neville - we tell each other just about everything.

"Seriously," I muttered. "Harry - he already knows."

"Oh," Harry said while looking around to make sure that no one else was listening in. "It's about the dragons. I figured that Hermione might know how we're going to get passed them for the task. I'm sure that she's read something about them in the library."

"Good point," I said.

How had I not thought of this? Hermione spends most of her time buried in books at the library. She's bound to know something about dragons and if she didn't now then I'm sure she would be all over it as soon as she hears that we have to face them.

As I should have guessed, Hermione went completely insane when she figured out what we had to do. She ran us straight to the library where the four of us, Neville joining in since he knew what we were up to, went through several different books involving different spells and information on dragons. Apparently this wasn't going to be as easy as Sirius had made it sound the night before. Dragon hides were really tough and it was really hard for any kind of simple spell to get through it and actually do any kind of damage to the creature.

"This is getting irritating," I muttered as I discarded another useless book. "We aren't going to find anything!"

"Yes we will!" Hermione said. "I'm sure that there is something in here, there has to be!"

"Yeah, because the average student always comes looking for ways to get past dragons," Harry said.

"Stop being so pessimistic!" Hermione said. "Keep looking!"

We searched for what seemed like an eternity, but we weren't getting any closer to finding anything no matter what book we looked through. I would rather be doing anything right now.

"Oh no," Hermione said suddenly. "He's back _again_!"

I looked up from my spell book to see Viktor Krum walking in the library. It was amazing how miserable he appeared in comparison to his brother. Other than the fact that he appeared to be scowling at everyone and everything, he did look remarkably like his brother. Maybe if he actually happened to smile and stand up straight instead of hunching over, the two of them would be difficult to tell apart.

"Do you not like him?" I laughed.

"He comes in here all the time," Hermione groaned. "His fans are always chasing him around and it really makes it difficult to concentrate…"

She started to trail off as he passed by and I couldn't help but notice that he was staring at Hermione in what appeared to be admiration. It was then that something started to click. Viktor had asked me during the Weighing of the Wands who Hermione was and apparently he had come in here quite often. Could it be that Viktor fancied Hermione? I wouldn't doubt it judging by the way that he looked at her just now.

"Let's go," Hermione said as she stacked up her books and put them neatly back on the shelves.

* * *

><p>The next day I had to convince Harry that it wasn't right for us to leave the school. Apparently he had gotten this wild idea over the night that we were going to run away and go live with Sirius, wherever he may be, so we wouldn't have to face the dragons and get killed. Luckily enough, I managed to convince him that it wasn't right and there was no way that we could do that.<p>

Then we came across a sudden realization while we were walking towards Herbology that day. Cedric walked passed us and Harry stopped suddenly.

"Should we tell him?" I asked.

"He's the only one that isn't going to know," Harry said. "You go to class - I'll tell him."

I nodded and Hermione and I continued onto the greenhouses. When we got there, Professor Sprout had us go to replant several different types of plants that I hardly recognized. The only person that seemed to be the least bit excited about this assignment was Neville, who found literally everything that we did in here fascinating. I guess it's good that he could excel in something though.

"Where is Harry?" I asked after a half of an hour. "He should have been here a long time ago…"

"He probably ran into someone," Hermione said. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."

He never came to class though and I didn't catch sight of him until we were on our way to lunch. As soon as I found him, I quickly walked over to him to see what had kept him from coming to class. He didn't appear to be harmed, so I guess it wasn't anything fatal.

"Moody wanted to talk to me," Harry told me. "He said that he wished that he could have caught you too, but he didn't think that Professor Sprout would appreciate him taking both of us out of class."

"Oh, what did he want?" I asked.

"It was about the Tournament," Harry explained. "Hermione - I need your help with Summoning Charms. I think I have an idea."

We found an empty classroom to practice in while everyone else went to the Great Hall to eat lunch. I wanted to know what his plan was, but he kept that from me until we made it into the room and closed the door.

"Moody told me that we need to play our strengths," Harry explained as he summoned a quill over towards him.

"So…summoning things will help you…how?" I asked.

"I'm going to summon my Firebolt," Harry said simply. "There aren't any rules against it, so I figured that it would be a good idea since Quidditch is probably the only strength that I have."

"That's brilliant," I said as I nodded my head in understanding. "But…what am I supposed to do? I can't fly as well as you can and I don't really have any strengths to speak of."

"You're great at making potions," Hermione commented.

"How is that going to help me?" I laughed. "What am I going to do? Make a potion as I sprint away from the dragon? That would be a lovely story in the Prophet!"

"Well, I'm sure we'll think of something," Hermione said.

"It's tomorrow, so we don't really have all that long to figure it out," I said.

By the time that the day was over, both Harry and I had mastered the art of summoning things. It was more for his own benefit than mine because I still wasn't all that sure on what I was planning on doing. I was almost to the point of just thinking that I should wing it and hope that I wouldn't die or anything like that.

However, when the next morning came, I began to panic. What was I going to do? I knew that I could summon just about anything from the castle with all the practice that I'd been doing, but what would I need? It was still hard to say. I had spent most of the time looking through all different types of spell books to prepare myself in some sort of way, so I guess that was the best I was going to do.

"This is going to be dreadful…" I muttered as I stared at my untouched breakfast.

"You really should eat something," Neville said. "You're going to need the energy."

"No, I'd rather not," I said. "I'll probably puke it all out by the time we get there…"

"You're going to be fine," Neville said sympathetically. "You're Emily Potter - you can do anything!"

"You're hilarious," I laughed.

I started to think I was going to be able to eat, but then I watched as Harry made his way down to the table and I knew that I wasn't the only one feeling a bit nauseous. When he sat down, I threw the toast back on my plate in disgust. There was no way that I could eat when I knew that in just an hour or so I was going to be face to face with a dragon that was prepared to kill me at any second. We all sat in silence as Hermione recited all sorts of spells that could come in use during the task. I tried my best to memorize as many of them as I can when we were suddenly interrupted by Professor McGonagall.

"Potter - both of you need to be on the fields now," she said. "You need to get ready for the first task."

I felt all of the blood leave my face as I heard those words. I stood up slowly and looked around at the Great Hall. So this is it. I was going to die for sure. Harry stood up quickly and looked over at me with what I imagined my face to look like at the moment - in other words, we were both absolutely terrified.

"Good luck you two," Hermione said with a reassuring smile. "You'll both be fine."

"Not too sure about that," I said in a hallow voice.

"You're going to be fine Emily," Neville smiled. "Don't worry."

He grabbed my hand and squeezed it reassuringly before both Harry and I walked with Professor McGonagall towards the first task. Before I stepped out of the Hall, I looked back in there for a moment to see George staring out after me. He looked scared and worried, something that I didn't see very often on his face. I looked forward again and tried to think over all of the spells that Hermione had told me and tried to decide which ones would be useful.

"Just try not to panic," McGonagall said sounding just as panicked as I was feeling. "That's all you have to do - just keep your heads and you should be fine. Do you have any plans - never mind, that's not my business. I was thinking that you should - oh no, I shouldn't be giving advice, that's terrible of me! I'm just-"

"Professor," I said.

"Yes, yes dear," she said quickly.

"I think that it's you that needs to calm down," I said with a small laugh.

"You're right, I'm terribly sorry, this isn't making it any easier on the two of you," she said.

Finally we made it down to the tent where the other contestants were pacing around. I could tell that they were just as nervous as we are, all except Viktor who looked as he usually did. I suppose that he wasn't really one to show his emotions to anyone. Once we arrived in the tent, Ludo Bagman clapped happily as he walked towards the center of the tent.

"Wonderful - we're all here!" he said happily. "Now, once the audience gets their seats, I will tell you all what your challenge is going to be. I'll tell you one thing now though - your goal is to fetch the golden egg! That's all I'm going to tell you know though."

It wasn't long before I heard a large amount of footsteps from outside that I assumed was the audience all gathering towards the seating to watch us face what I was imagining was going to be my death. Fantastic. I only stopped imagining a dragon ripping my body to shreds when I noticed someone peeking their head into the tent for a moment. It was George.

"Hey," he smiled when he found me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him in disbelief.

"I was just making sure that you were all right," he said innocently.

"That's sweet," I smiled. "But we aren't allowed visitors."

He stepped into the tent casually and looked around. No one was really paying attention. I could go on to assume that people were more concentrated on the fact that we were about to face a fully grown dragon than some random red head jumping into the champions tent.

"Do you have any idea what your about to face?" he asked.

"Well…" I said looking around and lowering my voice. "We aren't supposed to know exactly, so I can't really say…"

"Do you have a plan?" he asked nervously.

"Not exactly," I said looking down. "I'm just going to wing it."

"Always works for me," he said with a smile.

He looked like he wanted to say more and I could tell that he was worried despite his attempt on being casual. I guess that he didn't really know what we were going to face, but everyone else in the castle already knew that it was going to be something terrifying.

"Who is this young man?" Ludo Bagman asked skeptically.

"Oh, I'm George Weasley," George said with a smile.

"This is the champions tent boy," Bagman said with a frown. "You aren't allowed in here - go out to find your seat with the rest of the school."

"Right…" he muttered and looked back over at me.

He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and smiled before Ludo Bagman all but threw him out of the tent by grabbing him by the arm and forcing him out.

"Good luck," he called.

I felt myself start to blush. Why was I acting like this? I should be focusing on the spells that Hermione told me so I wouldn't be massacred - not this!

"Okay everyone," Bagman waved us all in. "Time to see what you're going to get - ladies first!"

He held out a small bag towards Fleur who slowly put her hand in it. When she pulled it out, she had in her hand what appeared to be a small model of a green looking dragon with a number two around its neck.

"A Welsh Green," Bagman said to Fleur.

Next he held out the bag in front of me and I put my hand inside of the bag and felt around. When I pulled out my dragon, I didn't recognize what it was called, but it looked rather threatening. It was a metallic-silver color with deep red eyes that appeared large even in model form which was pretty frightening to say the least.

"The Ukrainian Ironbelly," Bagman told me as he eyed the dragon.

The others pulled out their dragons after me. Viktor pulled out the Chinese Fireball, Cedric got the Swedish Short-snout, and Harry got the Hungarian Horntail. Why is it that Harry and I got the most threatening out of the five dragons? Of course that would happen…

Cedric had to go first. Before he went, Harry and I wished him the best of luck as he exited the tent. Viktor and Fleur gave us both look of confusion as if they were wondering why we would ever wish a competitor good luck on something, but I didn't care what they thought of me. Honestly, I could care less if I actually won this tournament.

My aim in this was to make sure that we all made it out alive, that would be good enough for me.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, I know that it wasn't much. The next chapter should be more exciting since it actually involves one of the tasks. I'm sorry if it was sort of annoying that I cut off before Harry and Emily actually went up, but I wanted to get your input in some of this. What do you think that Emily should do when she fights the dragon (compliments to FleurSuoh for giving me the information on it by the way)? Tell me what you think and give some suggestions! <strong>

**OH! The reference that I was referring to in the last chapter wasn't actually in the real Harry Potter novels, it was in my previous fan fiction story (Chamber of Secrets). I was talking about when Neville says to Emily **_**"Ah, young love," Neville sighed. "It's so innocent." **_**I was making a reference to when Fred told Emily this in the second one when referring to the relationship between Neville and her.**

**I hope you liked the chapter, tell me what you think!**


	20. The Ukrainian Ironbelly

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 20**

Just when Cedric went out to face his dragon, I overheard Ludo Bagman asking Harry about something and then later pulling him off to the side. What did he want with Harry? Maybe he was just asking him about his dragon or something weird like that.

I paced around the tent with a fast pace. What was I going to do? How was I going to make it passed the Ukrainian Ironbelly? There wasn't anything that I could think of that would be clever enough like Harry had thought of with summoning the broom, so I just resorted to thinking of some spells that I could use. There wasn't really anything else that I could think to do.

When Harry returned from where Bagman had taken him, he looked oddly confused and I really wanted to ask him what he had wanted with him, but I knew that he would tell me later. For a while, the only thing that I could hear was Ludo Bagman's voice with his commentary on Cedric's task. I was having trouble listening though because I was concentrating on all of the useful spells that I could use. When I looked down at my dragon, I noticed for the first time that it had the number two around its neck. That meant that I would be going next.

"You're going to do fine," Harry said looking over at me sympathetically.

"I'm not so sure about that," I said nervously. "I still don't really know what I'm going to do."

"You're good at coming up with things on the spot," Harry said with a small smile. "You'll figure it out once you're out there - I'm sure of it. Don't doubt yourself."

When I heard the cheering of the crowd, I seriously began to panic. Cedric had gotten the egg which meant that I was up next. I stared towards the entrance of the tent and listened as Bagman announced that it was time for the judges to come up with their scores. After a moment, the crowd cheered once again.

"That's one down, four to go!" Bagman announced. "Miss Potter, I believe that you are up next!"

Harry gave me a small smile and I slowly and shakily began to walk towards the field outside of the tent. I held on to my wand tightly as I stepped out and viewed the scene in front of me. Thousands of faces sat watching overhead as I walked forward. From where I stood, I could hear the murmur that passed over the crowd.

Where was the dragon? I walked out further into the field and looked over to my left. When I saw the dragon for the first time, my jaw dropped completely. This dragon had to have been at least sixty feet tall in height and it wasn't exactly the skinniest of things either. Its entire frame from top to bottom was covered in metallic looking scales that reflected the light so well that it was almost blinding to look at. When I looked up at its eyes, they were blood red and staring directly at me and watching my every move.

We both stared at one another for a moment, neither of us making a move. Then, suddenly, it let out a deep, threatening roar as I made a single step forward. I heard several screams coming from the crowd as it turned its whole body towards me and opened up its wings entirely. That's when I ran. I sprinted towards a rock, my heart practically beating through my chest. When I heard the next roar, I felt the heat and saw the light of the fire that was coming from its throat. It wanted me dead and I was sure that its wish would be granted in a moments time. I made it behind a rock just as the fire reached me and I managed to block myself from it. When the fire formed around the rock, I knew that I was going to have to make my first move now or never.

I waited for the fire to recede and I quickly plucked up the courage and jumped out from behind the rock and pointed my wand directly at the dragon, knowing instantly that my spell wasn't going to help me all that much.

"Incarcerous!" I shouted.

From my wand burst a thick rope that threw itself around the dragon's enormous torso and restricted it for another moment. I took this opportunity to throw myself forward in attempt to at least find where the egg was being kept. Just as I caught sight of this golden egg, the ropes snapped and the dragon was free once again. I jumped to the side as the dragon breathed another column of fire in my direction.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" I shouted as I pointed at an enormous rock to my left.

The rock rose quickly into the air and I directed it towards the dragons head. When the rock connected to its neck, I heard a sickening crunch as the rock split into several pieces and the dragon was thrown off slightly to the side. I took this moment to sprint in the direction of the egg. This was a huge mistake.

The dragon, recovering quickly from this blow, spat a huge thing of fire directly at me. I went to jump behind a rock to my left, but didn't make it in time. The fire burned along my left side, burning off portions of not only my clothing, but also the skin on the right side of my face, arm, leg, and part of my torso. I wanted to scream, but resisted the urge as I felt the skin peeling off of me. I could barely hear the crowd's horror over the pounding of blood in my ears and the roar of the dragon.

My eyes widened in horror as I heard the dragon's feet begin to shake the earth underneath me. It was coming for me. I took a deep breath and tried my best to ignore the intense stinging and burning that I felt on myself as I forced myself to sprint in another direction. As I was running, I saw the reflective scales of the dragon as it chased after me. As I ran and dodged the fire that shot around me, I noticed that the dragon wouldn't leave the area around the eggs. It was extraordinarily protective of them which was a big problem if I wanted to get around her towards them. I was going to have to come up with some kind of distraction.

I jumped down into a nearby ditch as I felt the heat of the fire fly above me. I heard the pounding of the dragon's feet as it circled around its eggs. How was I going to do this? Then all thoughts left my mind as I saw the shiny metallic scales of the dragon directly overtop of me. It found where I was and it was prepared to crush me. I jumped up from the crouching position that I was in and, without even thinking, I started to sprint underneath the dragon. While I was running, I got a wild idea in my head on how to distract it temporarily.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" I shouted as I pointed my wand behind me.

The phoenix burst out from my wand and flew out into the sky and around the dragon's head. It captured its attention long enough that I could get out of its view. My heart was beating so fast as I sprinted underneath the dragon. I knew that it couldn't see me anymore but I didn't want to stay underneath it long enough for it to figure it out and sit down on me. I heard the screams of the crowd as I emerged around the tail of the dragon - probably people freaking out that I had dared to go underneath the creature. I quickly looked around for the eggs, knowing that this was the moment that I would have to take if I wanted to get to the eggs. They were only slightly unprotected because of the dragons small search for me and its brief distraction from the phoenix patronus that was now started to fade as I noticed from the glance back at the dragon.

Then I saw the golden gleam of the egg about twenty yards away from me. That probably meant only a single step for the enormous dragon that stood behind me. Even though this particular dragon seemed to be moving rather slow considering its size, I didn't have doubt in my mind that it could crush me before I made it over there. That's when I heard another roar from the beast. I glanced back quickly and saw its blood red eyes looking murderously over at me. Quickly I pointed my wand at a nearby rock and threw it at its skull. After I heard yet another sickening crack and a few stomps from the dragon as it tried to steady itself from the blow, I began to sprint off in the direction of the egg as fast as my legs would allow me.

"Incarcerous!" I shouted back as I ran. "Impedimenta! Immobulu!"

I continuously shouted more curses in its direction until zoned in on the golden egg. Just as I reached for it, I felt yet another burning sensation running up my back. I did my best to ignore it as it ripped apart my flesh and I quickly grabbed for the egg. Once I had the giant golden thing in my arms, I threw my back onto the ground and quickly rolled off the fire that was burning through my flesh.

A whistle sounded and I looked up just in time to see a team of wizards jumping around me to help me up and some that went around to hold back the dragon. Once they helped me to my feet, I kept my eyes fixed on the dragon as wizards threw a bunch of spells on it to keep it contained so that they were able to remove it from the field. Just as I saw it begin to settle down, I was standing inside of another tent where only Cedric stood.

"Oh god," he said with wide eyes looking at me. "Are you all right?"

"Sure…" I said in a hoarse voice.

I looked down at myself for the first time and noticed the large holes in my outfit along my arms and legs. Where you could see underneath the clothing, there were large burns and some had even gone as far as to have boils forming along my leg and I even saw some blood here and there.

"Dragons…are they mad?" Madam Pomfrey muttered to herself as she finished up with Cedric and turned to me. "Miss Potter, let me get a proper look at your injuries.

She spun me around in a circle so she could see all of my burns. When I turned around so she could see my back, I heard her let out a groan. She hurriedly ran over to a pile of different potions and frantically went through them. Finally, just as I began to feel a bit lightheaded, she handed over a potion for me to drink. Without even bothering to see what it actually was, I downed the entire vial. She led me over towards the direction of the seats and handed me a sweatshirt that I could wear over my now burned clothing.

"Now sit right here while it takes effect," she said. "It might feel a bit strange, so don't be alarmed."

I nodded and took a seat in one of the chairs beside Cedric. He didn't look as bad as I did by any means, but that was probably because whatever Madam Pomfrey had given him had already gone into effect by now. After a few moments, I began to feel the potion's effects as I felt a strong cooling sensation take over my body. I listened to the noise outside of the tent in time to hear Fleur's name announced and the crowd let out a small cheer.

"Emily!" someone said from the opposite side of the tent.

I glanced up from my haze and saw Hermione and Ron running towards me. Madam Pomfrey looked like she wanted to say something, but she just shrugged her shoulders and let it be. I guess that she was too busy looking through her stock to care. That and there wasn't anything else she could do to help me since the potion was already going through me. Hermione threw her arms around me and Madam Pomfrey immediately went off.

"Please don't touch the patients while they are healing!" she shouted.

"Sorry," Hermione said.

She stepped back and I looked up at Ron. It had been a while since I had seen him without a grimace on his face and it was a nice change I have to say.

"I'm sorry about everything Emily," he said sheepishly. "I should have believed you both - you'd have to be mad to volunteer for something like this."

"It's about time you came around," I smiled. "Have you spoken to Harry?"

"No, we aren't allowed near the tent," Hermione said. "There are people guarding it. I guess that they think that someone could probably give them a few pointers now that you all know what is going on."

"We all knew anyway…" I muttered quietly.

"When does Harry go up?" Ron asked as we heard the crowd screaming outside.

"He's last," I said. "And he has to go against the Hungarian Horntail."

"Why is it that you two got the worst ones…" Ron muttered.

Hermione went to say something, but was interrupted by a disturbance outside of the tent. Someone was yelling about something and the other was yelling right back. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I knew that it couldn't be pleasant. Then I watched as the tent opened up and George scrambled into the tent.

"You're not allowed in here-" a man from outside said.

"Oh, he's fine," Madam Pomfrey called. "There are already people in here anyway."

George brushed off himself and glared at the security man. Then he walked quickly over to me. When he reached me, he threw his arms around me and held onto me tightly.

"Are you all right?" he asked me quietly.

"Never better," I laughed.

He backed up from me and looked down at my burns with wide eyes. I tried to cover the ones on my legs as best as I could and was extremely thankful that he hadn't seen the one on my back - he would have probably had a mental breakdown judging by how he was reacting to the ones that were visible.

"Seriously, I'm fine," I assured him. "Madam Pomfrey knows what she's doing."

I saw a appreciative smile coming from my Healer across the tent and George finally relaxed and sat down in one of the available seats. Ron and Hermione stepped away for a moment to see what was happening outside of the tent and on the field.

"Is Fleur still going?" I asked.

"Yeah," Ron said as he grimaced at the scene. "That had to hurt…"

As the potion's effects began to increase, I felt myself zoning in and out of what was happening. I heard some cheers from the crowds, some more names announced, but eventually I completely blacked out.

When I woke up, I felt someone's arms around me and I looked up to see that I was leaning on George who was now in the middle of a conversation with Viktor Krum. I couldn't tell what they were talking about because I still felt a bit out of it.

"And finally we have Mr. Potter," Ludo Bagman said.

I jumped up suddenly causing Viktor and George to both jump slightly. I quickly hobbled over towards the door to the tent where Hermione and Ron were standing so I could get a better look. It took me a minute or so to focus, but when I did, I watched as my brother walked onto the field and towards the enormous Hungarian Horntail. I couldn't hear from where I was standing, but when he waved his wand in the air, I knew that he was summoning his broom to him. I could only hope that it would work.

I went out of focus for a second, feeling slightly dizzy. I steadied myself and found focus again just as a Firebolt flew directly into Harry's hands and he took off into the sky. I drew in a breath when the dragon let out a roar and shot fire right into Harry. Quickly enough, Harry managed to get out of the line of fire and circle around the dragon's head.

Harry flew higher and higher above the dragon. Finally, once Harry was out of reach, the dragon opened its wings and began to go after him. I held my breath as Harry dove directly at the egg and caught it with one hand.

The crowd let out an enormous cheer as Harry flew off with the egg in hand as a group of wizards charged at the dragon to settle it down and make sure it didn't get out of hand. I breathed a sigh of relief when Harry landed at the edge of the field and a group of teachers caught up to him to direct him towards the hospital tent.

Right when he got there, I threw my arms around him, still wobbling around. He laughed and hugged me back before he noticed the company that we had. Ron and him just looked at one another for a moment without saying a single word.

"I…I reckon that whoever put your name in the Goblet wanted you dead or something," Ron said slowly.

"It's about time you caught on," Harry said.

Hermione and I looked from Ron to Harry wondering what was going to happen. Were they going to keep fighting or was this their way of apologizing?

"I'm sorry-" Ron started.

"Don't worry about it," Harry said. "It doesn't matter."

Hermione busted out into tears and practically knocked me over when she drew into hug us all. When she let go, I started to lose balanced but was caught quickly by George.

"Whoa there," he laughed as he steadied me.

"You'd think that I was drunk…" I muttered.

Everyone laughed at me as I held onto George because I managed to almost fall over again. I couldn't wait for this potion to wear off - it was getting rather annoying. We all walked out of the tent to see what Harry's scores were. That's when I realized that I hadn't seen what mine had been.

"What-?" I started to ask.

"You got a 5 from Karkaroff," Ron told me. "A 7 from Madam Maxine, a 9 from Dumbledore, a 10 from Bagman, and an 9 from Crouch."

"That's pretty good considering your injuries," Hermione commented. "I suppose that's what some of them took off for. They were really impressed with your Patronus though - I think everyone was."

Everyone around the field was cheering as all of the champions walked out onto the field where Bagman gave a final message to the crowd that I could hardly hear over the roar of the people. Finally, when he was finished, all of the champions moved back into the tent where he gave us our instruction for the second task. This time it was no secret on what it was to anyone including Hermione, Ron, and George who were all standing with Harry and me.

"The second task will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open. . . see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg -because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! Good luck and enjoy your nice, long break!"

Once he was finished talking, we were all released back to the castle to celebrate. On our way there, we ran into Rita Skeeter and her Quick-Quotes Quill floating nearby.

"Excellent job you two," she said with a devilish smile. "Would you mind if I asked you-?"

"Yes, we really would," I said.

"Good-bye!" Harry shouted at her as we passed by her and headed towards the castle.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I want to thank everyone for the suggestions, especially FleurSuoh who suggested the spells and the dragon that I used in this task! Again, if you have any suggestions for future chaptersbooks, don't hesitate to tell me!**


	21. Dobby and Winky

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 21**

Once we got back into the castle, I wanted to go up to my bed and just fall right to sleep until the potion wore off. Unfortunately, I wasn't given that option because everyone in Gryffindor wanted to celebrate our victory with the first task. I guess that I should have been happy at the moment about getting it over with, but it still wasn't something that I wanted to celebrate. The tournament wasn't something that I wanted to be involved with at all, but I guess that a lot of people, including Ron, understood this now that the first task was finished with.

The first thing that I did was grab some food and sit down at one of the tables around the common room with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I needed some kind of rest, sitting was going to have to due for now.

"Hey!" Neville called and walked over to sit next to us. "I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the dragons you two were facing - are you all right? I saw that both of you got burned pretty badly."

"Yeah, we're fine," I said. "Madam Pomfrey fixed us right up."

"Fantastic," he said with a smile.

I looked around at the party only a second longer when I was suddenly interrupted by Lee Jordan who practically pounced in front of Harry and me looking all around as if he was searching for something.

"Do you still have the egg?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah," I said.

Both of us walked over to the edge of the room where we set our eggs down when we had first come into the room. We both picked them up and held them up for everyone to see. There was a loud cheer coming from the crowd in front of us.

"Should we open them?" Harry asked.

"Yes!" Fred said while practically jumping up and down in front of us.

Both of us at once turned the latch on the top of the egg and immediately I felt regret as soon as it snapped opened. A loud, banshee screech let out from both of the eggs that sounded as though someone or something was being tortured. Everyone in the room covered their ears as we struggled to close them back up again. When the sound finally stopped when the eggs were closed, I could still feel a ringing in my ear.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked as he uncovered his ears.

"Maybe they have to fight the Cruciatus Curse," Neville said while going pale.

"Neville - that's illegal," I said. "They wouldn't do that."

After that small disturbance, the party continued on as if nothing had happened. Everyone ate all of the food and stayed up long past hours. Luckily, as time went on, the potion wore off and I was finally able to see and walk straight once again. When I looked down at my arms, I even noticed that the burn marks were completely gone - there wasn't even a trace of them. I'm going to have to learn how to make that potion - it could come in very useful.

The next day came and the excitement hadn't died down completely. The first task was all anyone had on their minds - apart from the wondering of what the second task would require. I knew that I probably should have tried to figure out the clue, but I still had plenty of time to figure it all out.

On my way out of lunch the following day, I was stopped when I caught sight of Snape walking along the outside corridor. I said a quick word to Harry and Ron who were hardly paying attention to me and walked outside to see what he was up to. When I got out there, he was simply pacing around the courtyard looking as though he was in deep thought. Without saying anything, I quickly fell into step with his pacing.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he suddenly stopped.

"What are _you_ doing?" I asked. "You're the one that started pacing."

"Right…" he muttered as he began to walk around again.

We began to walk around silently in the courtyard. Snape still seemed to have a lot on his mind, but he always seemed like that in a way.

"I see that Madam Pomfrey fixed you up…" he said suddenly.

"Yeah…" I said while looking down at my healed arms.

"You got burnt pretty badly, didn't you?" he asked quietly.

"Mostly on my back," I said. "I didn't actually see the damage myself, but it hurt bad enough to tell that it got the worst of it. Not to mention the looks that people were giving me when they saw my back - it probably would have been comical if I wasn't burning so badly."

"You need to be more careful next time…" he said slowly.

"Yeah, I heard that they take off points for getting hurt," I said.

"No, its not about the points," he said. "Just…keep yourself safe, would you? It wasn't exactly easy to watch you have flames thrown at you…or anyone else for that matter…"

Snape never really had a direct way of saying that he cared, but I imagined that this was as close as it was going to get to that. He was worried that we were going to get hurt, he just wouldn't come right out and say that directly. I guess that's just who he is.

"Maybe the next task will be better," I said. "I hope that it doesn't involve fire though, that got old really fast. I guess that I should take a look at that egg soon."

"You still have a lot of time left," Snape said. "Don't worry yourself too much about it."

"We opened the eggs last night though," I said with a grimace. "I think that I nearly lost my hearing."

"How do you mean?"

"The thing let out a scream," I said. "It was rather frightening to be honest. It sounded like someone or something was being tortured - it was horrific."

"That's…interesting…" Snape said thoughtfully.

"What is?"

"I just don't understand exactly what you're supposed to do with a clue that screams," he said.

"Me either…" I said. "But I guess I'll have to figure it out eventually."

By the time December started, I hadn't even begun to even look at the egg let alone try to figure out what the task was going to be. I took this break from the tournament to not have a care in the world outside of the usual classes that were coming to a temporary close soon for the winter holidays. However, the term hadn't quite finished up yet, so we all still had to attend class. One of those classes being Divination.

"This class is ridiculous…" I muttered.

"What was that Miss Potter?" Professor Trelawney asked with her big, bug eyes gazing over at me from Harry and Ron's table.

"I said that this class is the highlight of the day," I lied with an obviously fake smile.

She smiled over at me and then returned to looking into the orb in front of Harry and Ron. They looked about as thrilled as I did as I stared into the crystal ball in front of me, trying to see if I could actually see anything through the fog.

"Do you see anything?" I asked as I began to squint my eyes.

"Nothing but fog," Neville muttered as he poked the orb with his wand.

"I guess that we'll have to resort to the usual plan…" I sighed as I sat back in my chair.

"In other words, we're just going to lie through our teeth," Neville said.

"That's the plan," I said.

"Hmm…" Neville thought. "I see that you are going to have a lot of trouble figuring out the clue for the next task which will result in your immediate death."

"That's actually pretty realistic," I laughed. "But what's going to kill me?"

"Um…the orb doesn't want to reveal any clues to me about what's going to kill you because it might help you with the task," he said with a smile.

"That's brilliant," I said. "We lie too much - we're starting to become convincing."

"It comes in handy with this class," Neville said. "Now it's your turn - what am I going to do to ruin my life?"

"Well…" I said thoughtfully. "You're going to forget something, that's for sure…maybe you'll forget to bring your potions book to Snape's class and he'll end up humiliating you in front of the class because of your ruined potion."

"That's actually not much of a stretch," Neville laughed. "It could very well happen."

We were about to come up with some more to add on to our stories to make them a little bit more Trelawney's style, but we were interrupted when she came over and stared at us both.

"What have we Seen today in the mystical orb?" she asked in a misty voice.

I did everything that I could to keep myself from laughing in her face. It was hard to take her seriously because everything she did and said was complete and utter nonsense. We did our best to put a serious face on and look her in the eye to tell us what we had "seen."

"Well," Neville said with a cough. "It was a little foggy, but from what I could make out, it seemed as though Emily was going to have a struggle ahead of her. I saw an egg, so I took that as to mean that it had to do with the Triwizard Tournament. So, perhaps she is going to struggle with coming up with the clue to get passed the second task - I'm to assume that she won't be able to survive it."

It was almost sad to see Trelawney's face. She bought it - the whole thing. I couldn't believe that she couldn't see through the constant lies that we came up with every time we were in this class.

"Excellent job Mr. Longbottom," she said proudly. "This is astounding - have you ever considered becoming a Seer?"

"I've thought about it," Neville with a sigh. "But I could never imagine myself to have the skill that you have Professor."

I had to throw my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing - he was really laying it on thick this time. It was almost pathetic to see how she took in everything that he said like a sponge - he really had her convinced this time.

"Oh, you flatter me," she said with a smile.

Because she was so touched by Neville's answer, she didn't even remember to ask me mine. It's a good thing she didn't because mine was nowhere near as good as his was. She walked over to the next table without another word.

"I cannot believe that you just did that," I laughed quietly.

"I can be smart when I want to be," he said innocently.

Once we left Divination, we went on a search for Hermione. She wasn't in the Great Hall for dinner, so we assumed that she might have been in the library. For the first time, we were wrong about this particular guess. The only people in the library were Viktor Krum and a few of his admirers that were trying to get an autograph from him.

"Maybe I could just…" Ron debated with himself. "I don't know, do you think he would think I was weird?"

"Well, you are rather weird Ron," I said earning a look from him.

"Shut it," he muttered. "I only wanted his autograph…"

"I think you're going to have to get in line," Harry said looking over at the girls that were standing a few aisles away from Viktor.

"Or perhaps you could join their fan club," I stifled a laugh.

"Fine, let's go…" Ron muttered.

We didn't see Hermione in the halls leading up to the common room, but we did find her as soon as the Fat Lady opened her portrait.

"Where have you been?" Harry asked.

"Never mind that," Hermione said quickly. "You all need to follow me - I've been searching for you, did you know?"

She grabbed Harry and me by the arm and half dragged us towards the stairs. Ron quickly followed behind and we all stayed fairly silent on the way towards…well, I wasn't really sure where. We didn't stop walking until we made it to a large portrait of fruit.

"It's a lovely painting really," I observed with slight irrition. "Is this all you wanted to show us?"

"No," Hermione muttered as she stepped toward the painting.

"This isn't about spew again, is it?" Ron asked suddenly.

"Where do you get that idea?" I asked.

"This is the entrance to the kitchen - I've seen Fred and George use it loads of times," Ron said.

"This isn't really about S.P.E.W.," Hermione said while rolling her eyes. "I was just…talking to them…and - oh, you'll see."

She stepped towards the painting again and started to tickle the peach. I was about to ask her what her problem was, but I stopped when I noticed the portrait open up to reveal a very large room filled with small elves that were scurrying around the room.

"Harry Potter!" a familiar voice squeaked. "Emily Potter!"

I looked around until I found the source of the voice - Dobby. He was just as I remembered him aside from the large pile of mismatched clothes that covered his body. It was almost odd to look at him like this because I had only ever seen him wear the filthy looking pillow case that the Malfoys had provided him with while he was their servant.

"What are you doing here Dobby?" Harry asked.

"I work here!" he squeaked. "Professor Dumbledore gave Dobby and Winky jobs!"

"Why does he always talk in third person?" I whispered to Ron.

"No idea…" Ron shrugged.

"Wait - did you say that Winky is here too?" Harry asked.

Dobby nodded and led us all over to the corner of the room where we found a familiar looking elf wobbling around. She didn't look right - there was something off about her. She was stumbling around the area with a bottle in her hands and there were tears running down her enormous eyes.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"Winky misses her old master," Dobby explained.

I never though I would understand what goes through a house-elf's mind and I never wanted to figure that out. There just wasn't something right about the average house-elf - they just loved to work for their masters. I honestly didn't think any of them wanted to be free, that's probably what Winky was suffering right now. She didn't know what to do with her life.

"Winky - you're free now, you need to enjoy-" Hermione started but was stopped when Winky burst into tears.

"Please don't says that miss," Winky sobbed. "My p-poor master needs Winky!"

"He seems to be doing well," I told her. "There's nothing to worry about Winky."

"You sees my master miss," Winky sat up suddenly. "Why do you sees him? Is he here?"

"He's one of the judges for the tournament," I explained.

"Mr. Bagman and him came here a little while ago," Harry said.

"Mr. Bagman is a very bad man - my master tells Winky some very bad things about him," she said quickly. "But Winky can't tell - Winky keeps her master's secrets."

"She's mad…" Ron muttered.

We couldn't stay much longer because Winky kept sobbing and there was no trying to get sense into her - she seemed heartbroken. It was sad to see, so we all took off after a few minutes of talking to Dobby about his wages and what all he was going to buy with them. He seemed happy working here with a salary, so I suppose that he would be okay.

Together, the four of us walked out from the portrait of the fruit and made our way towards the common rooms again. On the way there, I tried to listen to Hermione's rants about S.P.E.W. but it proved to be difficult because I really don't even think that the elves were interested in their own freedom - they enjoyed being slaves, it was that simple.

However, I got into a fix when I noticed someone walking near us. I wanted to run to try to get away, but I knew that he had already saw me so it was too late. Vector Krum came walking through the halls looking happier than ever, so much different than his brother who was walking beside him looking glum about something. There was a strange effect on Viktor's face when he saw Hermione though, it almost resembled Vector when he looked at her like that.

"Hello Emily," Vector said happily.

We all stopped in the hallway and greeted the two Krum brothers. Hermione looked almost annoyed, probably because Viktor had been bothering her by being in the library all of the time. Ron, on the other hand, looked at them both in admiration. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that Ron was still considering getting his autograph at some point.

"Hello Vector," I said. "And Viktor - how are you both?"

"I'm doing well, I was just showing my brother around the castle," Vector explained. "He hasn't actually seen it all until now."Viktor, being his usual silent self, just nodded in recognition that he was being talked about. Vector smiled over at his brother, completely oblivious to the fact that Viktor could care less about what we were saying and was looking the other way instead.

"Have you met them Viktor?" Vector asked.

"Not really…" Viktor mumbled.

"Well, I believe that you know who these two are - you're up against them in the tournament," Vector said. "Harry and Emily Potter of course. And these two are Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."

I could see the shock on Ron's face when he realized that Vector knew his name. I half expected him to start jumping with joy, but he held back his excitement - that or he was just frozen into shock.

"This is my brother Viktor in case you didn't know," Vector introduced.

"Hello," we all said together, Ron a little higher than usual.

"Nice to meet you…" Viktor mumbled.

"He's not much of a talker," Vector explained.

It's funny that he felt the need to explain this. We could have gathered that much information in the first five seconds of the conversation. It's a good thing that Quidditch didn't require any kind of speaking or he wouldn't be able to play.

"I didn't get a chance to see you during the first task," I said to Viktor. "What was the dragon that you went against?"

"The Chinese Fireball," Viktor said while looking at me skeptically. "You went against the Ironbelly, right?"

"Yes," I nodded.

Viktor turned to his brother and said something quietly that I could hardly make out, though I seriously doubt that he wanted me to hear him judging by what he said.

"Is this the girl you've been speaking about?" he whispered.

Vector nodded while looking slightly embarrassed. I acted like I didn't hear them and turned to look at Hermione, Ron, and Harry for help. I still didn't have anything against Vector per se, but I felt a little awkward talking to them.

"Emily, I think we need to go," Hermione said. "I need you to help me with that thing we were talking about earlier."

"Oh, right," I said. "See you two later - nice meeting you Viktor!"

They waved to us as we continued to move towards the common room. I could tell by the look on Ron's face that he was confused as to why we left. He could be so thick sometimes.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! Tell me what you think - any suggestions? I've had some great ones, keep it up!<strong>


	22. Dates to the Yule Ball

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 22**

"Would to two please pay attention!" Professor McGonagall yelled at Harry and Ron during Transfiguration class.

I glanced over at my brother and Ron and noticed that they hadn't heard anything McGonagall said; they were still talking animatedly about something that I wasn't listening to.

"Shut it," I said as I nudged Harry in the arm.

Harry glared over at me and I nodded towards McGonagall. When the two of them caught her stern look, they immediately did as I had said and payed attention to her. She rolled her eyes and continued on with what she was saying.

"Thank you," she addressed the class. "As I was saying, the Yule Ball is a traditional event that is part of the Tournament. It is a special occasion that is used to help us get to know our foreign guests. Fourth years and above may attend - however, younger guests may come only if they are escorted by someone of age."

A ball? They were going to throw a ball in the middle of all this mess? It seemed slightly ridiculous, but maybe it could be an opportunity to actually forget about the tournament for a while. It could be nice.

"Dress robes will be worn," McGonagall said. "And the ball will start at 8 o' clock on Christmas evening. You are all to be on your very best behavior."

Everyone remained speechless except for a few giggling girls around the room. I rolled my eyes at Lavender Brown who seemed to find it very difficult to keep herself composed. Finally, the bell rang to release us from class.

"Potter - I need a word with you both," McGonagall beckoned us towards her.

As the room cleared out, we made our way towards McGonagall's desk. I wasn't really sure what this was about but I kind of assumed that it had to do with us being champions of the tournament.

"At the Yule Ball, both of you and your dance partners-" she started.

"Come again?" Harry asked. "Dance partners?"

"You heard me correctly Potter," McGonagall said bluntly. "You and your dance partners will open up the ball with a dance as tradition."

"I don't dance," Harry said.

"You do now," McGonagall said.

"But I-" Harry began.

"You heard what I said," she said. "You two will be representing the school and I expect you to follow through. End of discussion."

Harry groaned, but I nodded my head to McGonagall in understanding and we walked out of the class. I don't know what he thought the big deal was. Yeah, dancing wasn't exactly on my lists of things that I wanted to do, but I'd rather do that than prepare for the second task. I guess that it might be a bigger deal for him because he actually did have to ask someone as opposed to me who just had to wait to be asked by someone.

Throughout the time between the ball and now, Hermione had agreed to at least try to help Harry and Ron with finding a date. Or at least deciding who they were going to ask. I didn't even have to ask Harry who he wanted to ask - I knew that it would end up being Cho.

"Why did you tell her no?" Ron was asking Harry as they approached Hermione and me in the hallway a couple days later. "She wasn't bad looking."

"She was nearly a foot taller than me - I would look ridiculous dancing with her!" Harry groaned.

"Would you just hurry up and ask Cho?" I asked irritably. "She's going to get asked by someone else if you don't get a move on."

"She's always walking around with people," Harry defended himself. "You told me that I should wait until she's alone to ask her!"

"You should, but you need to hurry up," I muttered.

I guess that I was getting slightly irritated because a certain someone hadn't asked me yet. I wasn't even sure if George even planned on asking me or not, but I really wanted him to. At this point, only a few guys had asked me to the ball - two of them being younger and much shorter than I am and another one was a Slytherin that had made fun of Neville on several occassions, so I made sure to say no to him.

Vector had tried to ask me too, but I made sure to escape from him before he could finish his sentence. He constantly would find me wandering in the hallways alone and I knew that he was trying to find an opportunity to ask me and I really didn't have the heart to deny him because I was waiting for someone else to ask me.

On the final day before the holidays, we were all caught up in a huge exam for potions. There was a lot of complaining coming from every classmate from first year to seventh about how he just threw a test on us on the last day, but I wasn't going to complain because I knew that it was going to be just as simple as everything else in this class was.

During the test, everyone sat around the table and took the test in complete silence. That is, aside from Ron and Harry who were still debating how they were going to ask people out to the ball with them. They made sure to speak in hushed tones so that Snape couldn't hear them, but I couldn't help but notice the glares that Snape kept throwing them. He could hear them.

"You two need to get a move on before all the good ones get taken," Fred whispered next to Ron.

"Who are you taking?" Ron mouthed to him.

Fred looked around the room for a minute as he balled up a piece of paper that was laying nearby. He stopped looking and then tossed the paper directly at Angelina's head. She looked up at him, obviously annoyed, and mouthed 'what?'

"Do you want to go to the ball with me?" Fred mouthed at her.

She smiled and nodded her head. Fred nodded back and then looked back over towards Ron who rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"You need to get a move on as well..." Fred whispered as he nudged George who was sitting next to him.

George mimicked Fred by looking around the room at everyone. I looked up from my potions notebook to notice him mouthing to Alicia Spinnet if she wanted to go to the ball with him. As she started to nod, my blood began to boil as I watched George nod in agreement. I felt like I could have choked him to death at that moment. I slammed my notebook shut and stood up suddenly. When I dared to look over at them, I noticed Fred with wide, horrified eyes. He couldn't believe what happened either - he didn't need to speak for that to be obvious. Had he assumed that George would ask me? Probably.

I all but stomped up to Snape who stood only a few feet away from where I was. I thrusted the book at him and he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. He took it from me and then began to walk around. I walked angrily over to the table and started to pack up my stuff. Just when I turned around to walk away, Hermione told me to wait up for her because she would be done in just a few seconds.

When I turned back around, I watched as Snape whacked George upside the head. If I hadn't been so angry, I might have even laughed at seeing this.

"What was that for?" George demanded while rubbing his head.

"My hand just slipped..." Snape muttered.

"Right..." George said looking skeptical.

Just as Hermione walked up to turn her work into Snape, I saw Fred glaring over at George as I had been only moments ago. I think that he wanted to kill him just as much as I did.

"What's wrong with you?" George whispered.

Fred looked over at me and then lowered his voice. I strained my ears to hear what he was saying and I could just barely hear what he was saying.

"What is wrong with me?" he whispered. "You just asked Alicia to the ball - Emily was sitting right there. Why didn't you ask her you idiot?"

I felt George's eyes on me, so I acted like I wasn't paying attention by helping Hermione pack up some of her stuff. I didn't get to hear what he had to say, but I'm kind of happy that I didn't. I was so angry with him at the moment that I felt like I could just kill him and feel absolutely no guilt. Well...maybe a little guilt...

Hermione wanted to talk about what happened, but I didn't. She kept pressing the matter until we made it to the main floor where I finally decided that she wouldn't give up on the subject.

"I just don't understand why he asked her," Hermione said. "It is so obvious that he likes you, I just don't get it."

"Maybe he just doesn't like me like that Hermione," I said angrily. "Ever thought about that? He's just been playing me - I'm just one of his little brother's friends, that's all."

"That is not true!" Hermione gasped. "George loves you Emily!"

"It doesn't even matter!" I exclaimed. "It's just a stupid ball!"

"I know that it is!" Hermione said.

Then a thought occurred to me. She hadn't said anything about the ball since it had been mentioned. Something wasn't right about this.

"Hermione - did someone ask you already?" I said with sudden realization.

"Well...maybe..." Hermione blushed.

"Who?" I asked, actually excited for her.

"It was Viktor Krum," she said with a smile. "He asked me a couple of days ago in the library."

"I knew that he liked you," I smiled. "He asked about you at the Weighing of the Wands."

"He did?" she asked sounding surprised. "What did he ask?"

"He just asked what your name was," I said. "He's been watching you a lot, I figured that he fancied you."

We talked about Viktor for a few more minutes before she told me that she didn't want Harry and Ron to know that he had asked her. I didn't completely understand why she didn't want them to know, but I just

brushed it off. It wasn't really their business anyway. That was when we ran into someone.

"Emily!" Vector called.

"Hey Vector," I said with a sigh.

"Are you all right?" he asked looking worried.

"I'm fine," I said simply.

Vector side glanced at Hermione and gave her a small smile before turning to me. He looked slightly embarrassed and then started talking. I should have known this was coming.

"I've been wanting to ask you for a little while," Vector blushed. "Emily - would you go to the Yule Ball with me?"

"You know what Vector," I smiled. "I would love to go to the ball with you."

I hadn't seen Vector any happier than he was now. His smile probably took up his entire face and he looked as though he was glowing.

"Fantastic," he smiled.

He didn't stick around much longer before he took off. That's when I got to thinking - why did I say yes? Was it because I was angry at George? That might have been why I hadn't realized what he was about to ask because I was clouded with anger, but I honestly don't believe that's why I said it. Maybe it's because he was so patient with asking me. Even though it tended to bother me, he was a very nice person that was just trying. I couldn't deny him even if I wanted to. Vector was simply too sweet to say no to.

Once everyone had finished the potions exam, all of the Gryffindors had a small celebration for the start of the winter holiday. Basically, we all just met up in the common room and did nothing but talk and play a few games. It wasn't really much at all, but it didn't really matter.

"We really need to get dates..." Ron mumbled. "We're going to get trolls if we don't hurry up..."

"Trolls?" Hermione scoffed. "That's absolutely horrible Ron."

"It's true!" Ron muttered. "All of the good ones are probably taken by now! Wait a minute - you're a girl Hermione. Do you want to go to the ball?"

"You disgust me," Hermione snarled and stood up to walk away. "I wouldn't go with you if you were the last male on the planet - besides, I've already been asked!"

She stomped off to the other side of the room and didn't come back for the remainder of the night. I couldn't blame her either, I would have been just as angry.

"She's lying..." Ron muttered. "She would have told us who it was if she wasn't."

"She is not!" I said.

"Then who is she going with - I'm sure she told you," he asked.

"It's none of your business," I said with disgust. "But we all know that it isn't with you."

"Wait - do you want to-" he started suddenly.

"Oh come off it," I cut him off. "You don't even want to go with me. Besides, I've been asked as well."

"By who?" Harry asked sounding surprised. "You didn't tell me."

"Vector asked me earlier and I told him yes," I said.

"Wow," Harry said. "He finally got to you."

"Well, he was going to ask sooner or later," I said. "He's a good guy though, so I figured it could be nice."

I didn't stick around with them for the rest of the night. I didn't really feel like listening to their constant moping about how they didn't have dates. It was getting incredibly old and I didn't want to listen to it anymore.

Instead, I walked over to Neville who was looking around the room curiously. He was sitting alone, so I figured he might want some company.

"Hey Neville," I said as I sat down. "What's on your mind."

"The Yule Ball," he sighed. "I've asked a few girls, but they already had dates. Do you have a date already?"

"Yes," I said. "I'm going with Vector."

"Really?" he asked. "I would have thought George would've asked you."

"I thought that too," I sighed. "But he didn't...sorry though, I would've gone with you if I didn't have a date already."

"It's fine," he said. "Do you know anyone that would go with me though?"

"Hmmm..." I said while looking around the room. "Maybe Ginny would go with you. Ron told me that she's dying to go, but she isn't old enough."

"Okay," he nodded. "I don't know if she'll go with me though. I'm not exactly...you know..."

"Don't be so hard on yourself Neville," I said. "You're a great guy - and you aren't ugly either, so knock it off with this moping. I've heard enough of that from Harry and Ron."

"They don't have dates either?" Neville asked. "I would've expected that they would have asked people already."

"No, they haven't got the guts to ask anyone," I sighed.

"They better hurry before they end up having to go together," Neville laughed.

"I would pay so much to see one of them in a dress..." I laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>I know that it wasn't much, but I hope that you liked it. Sorry that it was late, I've had a lot of tests recently and I've just had way too much to do. I hope it didn't turn out too bad - tell me what you think!<strong>

**By the way, as someone pointed out, I said that you were supposed to tickle the peach to get into the kitchen in the last chapter, but it was really supposed to be tickle the pear. I have no idea why I put peach instead, so I apologize for that and thanks for noticing that! I feel like an idiot because I really did know that it was the pear...I need to stop rambling...**


	23. Harry Talks to George

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 23**

It was getting closer and closer to the winter holidays and Harry and Ron still hadn't managed to get a date to the Yule Ball. Ron had absolutely no plan as to who he was going to ask, but Harry knew that he wanted to ask Cho.

"Harry you have to ask her today," I instructed. "It may already be too late, so make a move now or never."

"Okay, I've got this," Harry said as he looked over at Cho who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table with a bunch of giggling girls. "I'll just get her when she's alone."

"I think it's too late for that," I said. "You're going to have to

seperate her from them or you're not going to get to speak to her."

"Fine," Harry sighed. "I'll do it today..."

Once breakfast had finished up, I decided to go up to the common room with Neville and Hermione while Ron and Harry went looking around for Cho to get her alone for once. On our way up to the common room, we ran into a slight problem when George tagged along with us.

"Hello," he said awkwardly.

"George..." Hermione muttered.

Hermione was angry with him as well. I truly believed that Hermione was almost as angry with him as I was because of what he had done, though I believe it was for a slightly different reason. She was under the impression that George was too afraid of being rejected by me and that's why he asked another girl. In my opinion, I still believed that he had been leading me on all along - he didn't really have any kind of interest in me at all.

"So...I heard that the three of you have dates to the ball..." George said while looking at me.

"We do," Hermione said.

"Ginny's really excited to go...she was talking all about it last night," George said while trying to sound casual.

"Yeah, Emily gave me the idea to ask her...I hope you don't mind that I'm taking your sister," Neville said awkwardly.

"No, it's fine..." George said while drifting off.

We walked along for a few more moments in silence. You could almost feel the awkward in the air with every step that we took. Why did he have to do this? Hadn't he tortured me enough or did he have to kill me before he was satisfied?

"So...who are you two ladies going with?" he asked while still looking at me.

"How is that your business?" I asked coldly.

"Well, I heard it around the common room that you were asked..." George said while looking around at everything but me. "But no one would tell me who you were going with...not even Fred..."

"I'm going with Vector," I said bluntly.

"Vector?" George choked out.

"That's right," I said. "He's a really good guy and he actually got up the courage to ask me and I couldn't say no to him. He really likes me you know."

"Why are you going with him?" he asked in a strangled tone.

"Why are you going with Alicia?" I snapped back.

"Well...I..." he started.

"You what?" I asked coldly.

I had almost forgotten that Hermione and Neville were with us because I was so angry with him. I could tell that this was sort of awkward for them, but I could see in Hermione's eyes that she was angry with him as well, Neville looked the same way.

"Maybe I didn't really want to go with Alicia," he mumbled.

"But you asked her," I said bluntly.

"It was sort of impulsive," George explained. "I mean, Alicia's brilliant and all...but..."

"I'm sure that the two of you will have a great time," I said.

"Emily...I...I-" George started.

"I don't want to hear it George," I said suddenly. "I really don't care."

Without another word, I quickly walked ahead of everyone else and took another turn. I wasn't going to go to the common room because I had to talk to someone else. And that someone else was down in the dungeons of the castle probably brewing some potions as he usually did. It took me a little while to make it down all of the steps, but I finally got there.

When I walked into the dungeons, I found Snape sitting down at his desk grading papers. He looked up at me and he instantly knew that something was wrong, I could see the change in his eyes. For a second, he almost looked sympathetic. Snape waved his wand and a seat zoomed

over to beside his desk. Without a word, I walked over to it and sat down.

"Why are boys so dumb?" I sighed after a moment.

"That's a question that not even I can answer," Snape said with a small smile.

"I don't understand it though," I said while laying my head down on the desk on my arms. "Why is he so angry at me for going to this ball with Vector?"

"He's jealous," Snape said simply.

"He asked someone else already," I said. "He could have asked me if he had wanted to!"

"Maybe he was scared to ask you..." Snape said.

"Why would he be scared?" I asked quietly.

Snape set down the quill that he was holding and pushed the papers that he was grading to the side. When he looked up at me, I could tell that something was haunting him.

"I used to know a young boy," Snape said slowly. "He loved this girl very much, but he was just too afraid to tell her...then, one day...something happened where the boy said something terrible to her...he did something terrible that he regrets very much...and she got away...but the boy never stopped loving her..."

Somehow, I got the feeling that this just wasn't any boy that he was talking about. Over the years, I had discovered another side of Severus Snape that not many others had been able to see. There was a reason that he acted so miserable all the time and I had slowly tried to figure it out. He had loved my mother, I didn't have any doubt about that. Had he simply been too scared to say anything to her? Was that why he was so miserable now?

"Maybe you shouldn't be so hard on him," Snape said quietly. "You have to remember that telling someone that you really love them isn't the easiest thing to do."

"I know..." I said. "I just would have thought he would know how I felt..."

"Just give him a chance," he said. "He'll come around..."

As I was walking back to the common room, I really got to thinking about what Snape had said. Maybe he was right, maybe I really was being too hard on him. But he wasn't right in asking another girl out if he really liked me, but then again, I had done the same thing with going out with Vector...I don't know, this was all so confusing.

Just before I was about to step into the common room, I noticed that Harry was walking in the same direction from the staircase. He looked a bit lost and confused yet somehow disappointed.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"She's going with Cedric Diggory..." he mumbled.

"Oh..." I said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry Harry."

He shrugged, but I could tell that it was bothering him still. I turned to the Fat Lady and gave her the password and continued into the common room where I saw Ron sitting in a corner with Ginny who seemed to be consoling him.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"I shouldn't have done it," Ron said in a horror-struck voice. "I don't know what came over me."

"Ginny - what happened?" I asked her.

"He asked Fleur Delacour to the ball," Ginny explained while looking over at Ron with concern.

"You did what?" Harry exclaimed.

"I don't know what came over me," Ron mumbled. "I just saw her standing there talking to Diggory and I just asked her - she looked at me like I was a slug!"

"Well, you can't really blame yourself," Harry said. "She's part veela - did I tell you? She was probably putting the charm on just as you walked by."

"Right, I'm sure that was it..." Ron mumbled. "This is ridiculous, we're going to be the only ones without dates - well, I guess there's Neville."

I glanced over at Ginny who immediately looked at the floor with an embarrassed look on her face. So I guess that she agreed to go to the dance with him.

"He has a date," I said with a pointed look at Ginny.

"Great..." Ron muttered. "Now we're the only ones."

"Serves you right," I said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked.

"You're idiots, that's what it means," I laughed.

Harry rolled his eyes just as Hermione was coming down the stairs and all eyes turned to her. Ron was now looking at her as if a light just went off in his head. Before she got in earshot, he turned to us.

"She's definately lying about having a date," Ron said. "She refuses to tell anyone who she is going with. I heard that Neville asked her too and she said the same thing."

"Ron - she isn't lying," I sighed. "I know who she's going with."

"Me too," Ginny confirmed.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"I told you - it isn't our place to tell you," I said.

"She'll tell you if she wants to tell you," Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Right, okay," Ron muttered.

When Hermione came over, everyone went quite and it got slightly awkward. I think that if I hadn't been throwing a look to kill right at him that Ron would have said something to Hermione.

"I think I have an idea," Harry said suddenly.

I watched as Harry walked over to Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. I couldn't hear what he was saying from where I stood, but it didn't really wasn't that difficult to figure it out. When he came back, he had finally figured something out.

"So Parvati said that she'll ask her sister if she can go with you," Harry told Ron. "But I'm pretty sure that we're set."

"It's about time..." I muttered.

...

As the winter holidays began to go into full swing, the snow began to fall and a lot of people began to go into a more cheerful mood than usual. This year, because of the Yule Ball, more people began to sign up to stay at the castle for the holidays. Anyone who wasn't going, meaning the majority of the first through third years, all left on the train to their homes.

As I was walking to breakfast that morning, getting up later than I usually did, I walked there alone and watched the snow fall on my way. I always have loved the snow. I remember the first time the Dursleys let us go out in the snow - usually they didn't let us because they didn't want us to make a mess inside of the house afterwards, that and they wanted to make sure that we wouldn't have any real fun. But I do remember making a snowman on our first day in the snow when we were around 7 or 8 years old. It was slightly lopsided and oddly proportioned, but it was our own creation. Sadly, Dudley destroyed it a few hours after it was completed.

I was suddenly torn away from my reminiscing when I turned the corner and found George talking to Harry in private. It looked like they were having a serious conversation, so I quickly hid behind the corner before they could see me.

"George, you have to admit that it's your own fault," Harry told him. "She was waiting for you and then you went off and asked another girl right in front of her."

"I know..." George said sadly. "I just...went a little crazy I guess."

"You think?" Harry laughed then with a sigh said, "She really likes you George, but if you keep doing stuff like this then she isn't just going to wait around for you."

"I know...I've seen how the other guys look at her..." George mumbled.

"Then hurry up and make a move, it's irritating me," Harry laughed.

"Every time I do, you normally mess it up..." he mumbled quietly.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"Nothing at all," George said quickly. "Thanks for helping me - sorry that I'm acting all sappy..."

"It's fine, just hurry up before you lose your chance," Harry said.

"Thanks again," George said as I heard footsteps move away.

"Oh, and one more thing," Harry called. "Don't hurt my sister. Really, I don't want to have to kill you."

"Is that a threat mate?" George asked skeptically.

"That's a promise Weasley," Harry said.

I waited for a moment as the footsteps faded away before I started walking towards the the Great Hall. Just as I was about to move from my hiding spot, I heard another set of slow footsteps coming towards me.

"It's not polite to eavesdrop Miss Potter," he droned.

Snape stepped forward slowly with a small, amused smile on his face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Professor," I smiled back.

"I'm sure..." Snape said as he continued into the Great Hall.

Without another word, we both walked into the Great Hall to find our seats. I made my way over to where Harry, Ron, Hermione, and some others were sitting and took a seat next to Hermione. Apparently Ron hadn't gotten over the fact that she was going with anyone judging by where the conversation was going.

"Hermione - why can't you just tell me?" Ron insisted.

"Because you'll make fun of me," Hermione sighed.

"You've got to be joking," a voice behind me said.

I turned around to see none other than Draco Malfoy standing there with his usual band of friends. It was rather irritating how they always went around to terrorize people. It's hard to believe that not that long ago we had been on decent terms. Then again, he wasn't treating me as badly as he usually did, so I guess that was an improvement. Then again, I could hardly imagine just being friends with Malfoy because of the past few years here.

"Granger has a date to the ball - that's the best thing that I've heard all day," Draco laughed.

Hermione didn't look the least bit offended and instead turned to look behind Draco and started to wave and smile.

"Hello Professor Moody," she smiled.

Draco jumped back as he had before when she had done this with a terrified expression. Apparently you can get really jumpy around people that turn you into small animals.

"Very funny," Draco sneered.

"Speaking of funny, who's the pathetic girl that you're taking to the ball Draco?" I asked.

"That would be me," Pansy announced as she stepped forward.

"Wow, I don't know who has it worse now," I muttered. "Draco or Parkinson."

"Very funny Potter - who is it that you're taking that's so special?" Pansy spat.

"I'm going with Vector Krum," I said.

"You mean the pathetic knock-off of his more famous brother," Pansy snorted.

"Oh please, I saw you drooling over him the other day in the corridor," I sneered.

"Listen Potter, I-" Pansy started.

"That's quite enough Pansy," Draco silenced her.

She stepped back and looked down at the ground with almost shame. I wanted to make another comment on how she not only looked like a dog, but took orders like one, but I decided to be a bit more mature at the moment and refrained.

On our way back up to the common room after breakfast, we were talking about how much smaller Hermione's teeth had become since the accident with them when we were interrupted by Ron's owl that came around and was hooting frantically. It was carrying two separate letters that had Harry's name on one and mine on the other.

I didn't open it up until we made it into the common room, but when I did, it wasn't hard to tell that it was from Sirius. Not only did he never write his name in the letter, but I would be able to recognize his writing anywhere.

_Emily,_

_Great job with the dragon - I hope that you didn't get burned up too badly. From what I've heard, the Ironbelly set you on fire a couple of times and I hope that you were able to get that fixed up. I should have told you before, but a dragon's weakest point is in its eyes, so you probably should have aimed for that._

_It's really a shame that you ended up with that particular dragon because it's really hard to beat. Good work with distracting it with your Patronus, but what were you thinking with running underneath the dragon? Are you trying to get yourself killed?_

_I'm going to warn you just like I did with Harry - keep your eyes open. I have a strange feeling that whoever put your names into that Goblet has a lot more in store for you. So don't let your guard down because you've completed the first task - you still have two more ahead of you._

_Keep in touch - I miss you very much._

Before long, Christmas was just around the corner. Before it got too close though, Hermione and I requested special permission to go to Hogsmeade to go look at some dresses for the ball. I wasn't really sure what I was planning on getting, but I assumed that they would have a lot to choose from.

A couple of days before Christmas, we both headed out to Hogsmeade to a shop called Madam Ornatus' Dresses and Dress Robes **(Author's Note: No, that is not a real place in Hogsmeade, I invented it for the story's sake. Also, as a fun fact, I used the name 'ornatus' because it is the Latin word for dress.)**. When we arrived, it was surprisingly empty considering how close the ball was. There were a few classmates of ours in there, but they were older students that I hardly recognized.

Hermione and I walked around the store in search of something that would catch our interest. I was looking the other way when Hermione let out a sudden gasp.

"Emily - you have to get this one!" she squealed. "Look - it even matches your eyes!"

I turned to see a very beautiful, elegant dress hanging nearby. It was long and flowing with the shoulders cut off **(See Taylor Swift's dress in her song "Teardrops on my Guitar" to see what I'm talking about, I am terrible at explaining it. It's supposed to look just like that, but at a shorter length than the one she is actually wearing, but it is still supposed to be long in this story)**.

Before long, I had tried it on and decided that it was the perfect dress for me. After a little while, we managed to find a beautiful pink dress that Hermione absolutely loved and we were out of the store in no time.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it. I figured, since I have time, I'll respond to the comments that were made to the last chapter!<strong>

**GhostOfFanfiction: Oh, I know what you mean with being busy with homework - I've been packed with it recently! I'm happy to know that you liked those parts, I loved writing them!**

**Random Person 94: Yes, George can be really stupid sometimes, I understand!**

**White-Lily-Rose: I agree! I'm happy to hear that some people are liking how I depict Neville in my story - in case it wasn't obvious, he is basically my favorite character in the book!**

**lilyevans12681998: No, its not weird at all and I'm really sorry for making you feel like it is. I know a lot of girls that date guys that are shorter than them, don't feel bad at all. Height doesn't make any difference!**

**Aranhilwen Princess Of Arda: Yes, George is really dumb sometimes! I hope that you liked the dress that I used - it was a suggestion from BlueMoon-Tenshi!**

**charlie167: I hope that you'll like it!**

**PurpleLunaWolf: He really does have a lot of nerve, that boy!**

**Earthling123: I loved writing that part of the chapter - I'm happy that you liked it!**

**Cheerfully Blue: I hope that you liked the part where Harry and George were talking. That was sort of meant to explain George's reasoning!**

**EmInsane: I hope that you'll like where I'm going with this! The actual Yule Ball is going to be in the next chapter, so you'll have to see then!**

**Olivia Marie 20: It's the next chapter, I hope I don't disappoint you!**

**The Agent of Fire: Happy that you liked it! I kind of wanted Emily to go with Neville at first, but I don't want anyone to get the idea that they are going to have any type of romantic relationship - I want their relationship to be seen as really good friends!**

**Person3162012: Thank you for the correction though, I still can't believe that I did that. :(**

**Emma123: Happy that you liked that part!**

**prydain: I hope that you liked this chapter!**

**Luli Cullen: I hope that you liked this one - and yes, George is a bit of an idiot, isn't he?**

**Well, that's all for the comments - I hope that you all liked this chapter and I hope that you'll tell me what you think! :D By the way, the next chapter is going to be the Yule Ball!**


	24. The Yule Ball

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 24**

Before I knew it, it was Christmas morning and I was being woken up by Hermione who told me to come downstairs to open gifts. I quickly got dressed in jeans and one of Mrs. Weasley's sweaters and went downstairs. When I made it into the common room, I found Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting close by the fire with a few gifts in hand.

"Merry Christmas," I smiled as I sat down on the ground next to them.

Ron handed over one of the gifts that I immediately recognized to be another one of Mrs. Weasley's sweaters that she had made for me each year. This one was a green one that had a large, embroidered E on it with sparkles all around. Along with the sweater came a box of chocolates.

The next gifts that I received were a small, toad charm from Neville; the Skiving Snackbox from Fred and George; a bottle of perfume from Hermione; a book on the fundamentals of Quidditch from Ron; a piece of cloth from the Dursleys (how thoughtful of them); and a photo album from Sirius including pictures of my parents and himself when they were much younger. Lastly, Harry and I exchanged our usual gift of chocolates and a card.

Once we were finished with the gifts, we hung around the common room for most of the day until we finally decided to go outside for a little while to see some of the snow.

"Hey Emily, come look at this," Harry said while motioning towards himself as he knelt in the snow.

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

Suddenly, he spun around and threw a snowball directly at my arm and started laughing. At first I was so stunned that it took me a minute before I rushed towards the snow and threw some directly at my brother's chest. Before long, we were all engaged in a full out war that took a while to calm down.

"Emily?" Hermione called from the sidelines. "I'm going to go get ready for the ball."

"Okay, I'll go with you," I said as I threw a final snowball at Ron's face.

"Hey!" Ron yelled as I ran towards the castle with Hermione.

There was still plenty of time left until the ball actually started, but it was late enough in Hermione's opinion. She had no interest in putting anything on by magic because she felt that everything always looked better if you did it yourself.

"What do you think I should do with my hair?" Hermione asked as she finished up with painting her nails.

"Maybe you could use some of that stuff that Ginny gave you," I said. "Isn't it supposed to flatten it?"

"That's a good idea…" she said as she went searching for it.

I had Hermione do my hair into a low side-braid that fell down from my shoulder along with a small lily that was placed behind my ear (something that was decided nearly last minute). Hermione showed me how to do French tips for my fingernails and before long, we were both in our dresses with our make-up and hair done.

I felt like there was something missing though. I looked over at my side table and saw the locket that George had given me. Would it be appropriate to wear it when I'm going with Vector? I decided that I didn't really care and I quickly put it on when Hermione was looking in the other direction.

"You look so pretty!" Hermione squealed as I stepped into my shoes.

"You too - Viktor is going to love you," I smiled.

Deep down though, I knew that this was going to have some sort of effect on another boy as well. Recently, I've been noticing something a little odd about Ron. Every time the Yule Ball was mentioned, he would always turn towards Hermione and try to ask her who her date was. Just by the way that he asked her in a sort of desperate, worried tone gave me the impression that something wasn't right.

When I looked up at the clock, I realized that the Yule Ball was going to start any minute and I had to be in place for the beginning of it. Hermione still had a little bit of adjusting to do with her hair, so she told me to just go on downstairs to find Vector. So, I walked down towards the Entrance Hall to wait. Before I made it out of the door, I found Harry walking in the same direction.

"Wow," he smiled. "Emily, you look beautiful."

"Thanks Harry," I smiled. "You clean up well too - wait…"

I stepped over towards him and grabbed a hold of his crooked bow-tie and adjusted it to where it was now straight. With a single nod, we both exited the common room and made our way down towards the Entrance Hall. Before long, we were amongst a group of our fellow classmates trying to find our dates.

When Ron joined us, I had to hold back the laughter because of his obnoxious outfit. It was the very same one that his mother had given him at the start of the term and it appeared as though he had tried to make some minor adjustments to it that caused it to have a bit of a frayed look. Despite my earlier attempts to stick up for Mrs. Weasley's choice of dress robes for her son, I couldn't help but think that it looked entirely too much like a dress.

"Emily!"

I turned to find Fred trying to squeeze his way through the crowd. He managed to make it through the crowd and I found that he was being followed by Angelina and George who looked completely lost as he looked around at the crowd. However, when he looked over at me, I noticed his jaw drop slightly.

"They need to hurry up and let us into the Great Hall," Fred muttered. "It is way too crowded in here…"

"You're telling me," I muttered.

"I love your dress Emily," Angelina said with a smile. "It's gorgeous!"

"I don't think that she's the only one thinking that, if you know what I mean," Fred said so only I could hear while motioning over to his twin brother.

George blushed and looked at the ground for a moment. Fred smiled at us both and then turned to take Angelina in another direction. As if on cue, Harry and Ron left the area when they found their dates coming down the stairs.

"Emily…" George said slowly. "You look…beautiful."

I could feel myself blushing, but I didn't really care at the moment.

"You look quite handsome yourself," I smiled. "I've never seen you in a tux before."

"Yeah, well it's a requirement," he laughed and then looked towards the ground again and sighed. "Listen, I know that this isn't the best time, but I-"

"Emily - there you are!" someone called from behind me.

I turned around in disappointment to find Vector making his way through the crowd. When he reached me, he took my hand and kissed it and started to smile, but I couldn't take my eyes off of George. He didn't look angry with the interruption, but upset. I didn't know what to say.

"Oh, hello George…" Vector said awkwardly. "I didn't realize that you two were speaking."

"Yeah…well we were…" George muttered.

We stood there just awkwardly looking around for a moment.

"Champions!" McGonagall called. "Champions over here please!"

"Well, I believe that is us," Vector said happily. "I guess this can wait until later George."

"Right…" George sighed.

Vector took me by the hand and started to lead me towards Professor McGonagall's call, but I could only keep my eyes trained on George who stood in the midst of the crowd just watching me walk away with Vector. The last thing I saw of him was Alicia finding him and leading him into the Great Hall with everyone else.

"Just stand here while everyone else goes in, then the champions will enter," McGonagall instructed.

We all nodded and I turned to see Harry's gaping face at the couple that stood behind us. It was Viktor and Hermione. That's when I remembered that he didn't actually know who she was going with.

"Oh, by the way Harry," I nudged him. "Hermione decided to go with Viktor."

"Did she now?" Harry laughed. "I wonder how Ron's going to react."

"That's been something I've been wondering for a while Harry," I sighed.

After a few moments, everyone was inside of the Great Hall except for the five champions and their dates. When everything got silent inside of the Hall and I heard Dumbledore announce that the champions, we proceeded to walk out. I was put in line behind Harry, so I just concentrated on not falling on my face as Vector led me forward towards the far side of the room where the dancing took place.

When we stepped into the Hall, I looked around at all of the decorations. The Great Hall was appeared to be some kind of winter wonderland with the frost that seemed to cover every inch of the room and with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling.

Finally, we stopped when we made it to the dance floor and we all took our positions to begin our dance. When the music began to play, I realized that I had no idea how to dance. Luckily enough for me though, Vector did, so I just followed his lead and tried to focus on not falling and busting my face. Before long, several people began to join in and everyone began to dance aside from the few miserable people that sat on the sidelines. One of these miserable people included Ron and Padma who both seemed to be having a terrible time already. Judging by the angry glare in Viktor's direction, I could tell just why Ron was feeling so distraught.

I sort of fell into a robot sort of state with all the dancing because apparently Vector loved to dance. Luckily though, I was saved when someone else came along to save me.

"May I steal your partner for a moment," Dumbledore smiled. "I believe that I owe at least one of my champions a dance."

I smiled as Vector bowed towards Dumbledore and I was released from his grasp. Dumbledore was actually a fantastic dancer to be honest. Unlike Vector, he didn't make me dizzy with a bunch of spins and twirls, but instead just made it a slow paced dance.

"You've done very well with the tournament Miss Potter," Dumbledore said proudly. "Though I wouldn't expect any less from you."

"Thank you Professor," I smiled. "But I do still need to work out the clue for the next task, I haven't really looked at it since it nearly deafened me after the first task."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out soon," Dumbledore smiled.

The song soon came to an end and Dumbledore bowed and kissed my hand like a gentleman.

"Thank you for the dance," I said.

"The pleasure was all mine," Dumbledore said with a wink. "You do look magnificent tonight, so much like your mother."

Before I could make any response, I was interrupted when someone else began to walk around in the distance. Dumbledore took me by the hand as we walked toward the miserable looking professor that was trying to make his way through the crowd.

"Severus!" Dumbledore called.

Snape turned around and raised an eyebrow at Dumbledore. He glanced briefly over at me with a quick twitch of his face and then looked back at the headmaster.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I do believe you owe our champion a dance," Dumbledore smiled.

"Well, I don't really dance-" Snape started to object.

"I don't want to hear it Severus," Dumbledore said.

Dumbledore pushed me in Snape's direction and began to walk off with a wink. With the roll of the eyes, Snape took me by the hand and walked into the dance floor. In an awkward sort of manner, we began to dance. Surprisingly enough, Snape wasn't a bad dancer at all, it seemed to be almost natural to him, but it was very obvious that he didn't want to.

"You look very nice tonight Miss Potter," Snape said slowly.

"You don't look so bad yourself Professor," I smiled.

Of course, as usual, he was wearing the very same attire that he usually wore - a black set of robes that didn't differ all that much from what he wore while teaching.

I glanced over Snape's shoulder to see Harry looking at me with an eyebrow raised. While Snape was looking away, I quickly stuck my tongue out at my brother. Just before he was out of sight, I saw him laughing with Ron who still seemed to be having a terrible time.

Finally, the song came to an end and Snape did a final bow before we were finished. My feet were starting to ache, so I decided to walk over and sit next to Harry and Ron who were now both without their dates.

"What happened to Parvati and Padma?" I asked.

"They decided to dance," Harry said simply.

"Without you?" I asked.

"Well, I don't really want to dance," Harry sighed.

"Well, isn't that sweet of you," I laughed.

I looked around at all of the people dancing to the new song. Hermione, who was still dancing with Viktor, seemed to be having a wonderful time, much to Ron's dismay.

"You could have prevented this, you know?" I said to him.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked while going a bit red around the ears.

"You could have just asked her earlier," I said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ron muttered and slumped down.

"Right, of course you don't," I sighed. "I guess all the Weasley brothers are alike in that way…"

Harry let out a small laugh and tried to cover it up as Ron threw a look in his direction. I looked around the room until I noticed a particular red headed boy that was sitting on a bench alone on the other side of the room. When I looked around further, I found Alicia talking to some boy from Bulgaria. I guess that their date wasn't going so well.

"Where's Vector?" Harry asked.

"I'm not really sure," I said as I thought about it suddenly. "I haven't seen him since Dumbledore asked me to dance."

I looked over at Ron whose face expression hadn't changed since I had sat down. He looked really grim and when I followed the direction that he was looking at, I discovered that he was still watching Hermione and Viktor. Could he be any more obvious?

That's when Neville came over to sit on the other side of me and looked across the room where I was now looking at George once again.

"He hasn't asked you to dance yet, has he?" Neville sighed.

"What - who?" I asked innocently.

He raised an eyebrow and gave me the you-know-exactly-what-I-am-talking-about look. I shook my head and he stood up again and held out his hand.

"Care to dance?" he asked.

"Sure," I smiled.

I stood up and took his hand as we walked out onto the dance floor. It wasn't as slow paced of a song as the ones that were playing during my other dances, but Neville seemed to know how to dance, so that was okay. As a little time went by, I noticed that we were slowly shifting over to where George was sitting and I looked over there every so often and noticed that he was watching us without expression.

Suddenly, Neville twirled me around and let go so I stopped directly in front of George who raised an eyebrow. When I turned around, I noticed Neville stepping backwards into the crowd of people and he smiled and waved as he vanished in the middle of them. So this was a set up to get me over to George. Well played Neville…but I'm still going to kill him after this…

"Hello," George said.

"Hi," I smiled nervously. "Where's Alicia?"

"She left because I didn't want to dance," George shrugged.

I sat down next to him and he let out a sigh and looked around. The party wasn't dying down much, so I knew that I was still expected to stay there because I was a champion.

"Where's Vector?" George asked while looking away.

"I'm not really sure where he went," I said. "He vanished after I started dancing with Dumbledore."

George nodded slowly as he looked down at his shoes. What was his problem?

"What were you saying to me earlier?" I asked suddenly.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Before Vector took me off to stand with the other champions," I explained. "You were saying something, but he interrupted you."

"Oh, right," George said going a little red. "Nothing, it was nothing."

"But you were-" I started.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked suddenly.

I blinked a couple of times in surprise of this sudden question. He stood up and held out his hand. I looked at him for a minute before I stood up and walked out onto the floor. Of course, just as we stepped out there, the song changed to a slow song. I looked up towards the band to see Neville talking to the coordinator as if he was requesting a song. When he caught my eye, he winked at me and raced off the stage.

I was going to murder him before the night was over.

George took my hands and held me close to him as we began to slow dance to the song. After a moment or two, I laid down my head on his chest as we began to move around slowly just as everyone else was doing. I soaked in the familiar smell of his and remembered just how much I had missed it. How much I had missed him…

"I'm really sorry Emily," George sighed.

"About what?" I asked.

"Asking some other girl to this ball," he said. "I don't know what was wrong with me…"

"It's just a stupid dance," I chuckled.

"I know, but…it was still wrong because…I…well…you know…" he stammered.

I looked up at him to see him practically as red as a tomato. I had literally no idea what he was trying to say, so I was completely lost. I just raised an eyebrow.

"I-I love you," he said quietly.

Words can't even describe the emotion that I felt at that moment. I had waited so long to hear those words come out of his mouth. Without saying anything, I pulled him closer to me and kissed him. Everything else around us faded away and I felt as though I was floating on a cloud. When I pulled away, George looked as though he had just been hit in the head with a Bludger.

"I love you too," I smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I really hope that you liked it! Sorry that ending there was a bit abrupt, the rest of the Yule Ball will finish in the next chapter. Tell me what you think!<strong>


	25. Ah, Young Love

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 25**

George and I stood there on the dance floor only a minute longer before someone else decided to show up for the first time in a while. It was Vector and something seemed a bit off with him as he began to practically stomp over in our direction.

"Oh, there you are Vector," I said awkwardly as he approached.

Suddenly, without even a moments hesitation, Vector pushed George backwards. I was so stunned by this random act of violence that I sort of just stood there while Vector began to yell at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Vector yelled.

"What are you talking about?" George asked angrily.

"I don't know if you've noticed or not, but Emily is _my_ date," Vector growled.

"And your point is?"

"My point is that you need to get your hands off of my date," Vector yelled.

It was then that I noticed that this scene was getting the attention of a lot of people that were standing around. However, the teachers didn't appear to notice. Yet.

"Last time I checked, Emily isn't your _property_," George snarled. "And she wasn't exactly objecting to what I was doing, so how about you back off."

Suddenly, Vector jumped forward again and pushed George backwards. Vector went to hit him again when George threw up his arms to stop him. He shoved Vector backwards and just as Vector went to hit him again, he arm was stopped by someone else that decided to join in and step in between them both.

"What is going on here?" Snape growled.

"Nothing at all Professor," George said as he glared at Vector.

Snape raised an eyebrow and looked at each of the boys and then at me. He rolled his eyes and shoved them both away from each other.

"That's what I thought," Snape said as he proceeded to walk away.

Both of them were throwing looks at one another still, but neither of them dared to throw another punch because they knew that all eyes were on them now. I looked around and noticed that the majority of the people that were looking over at them a minute ago had now gone back to what they had been doing. I guess that they weren't entertained anymore…

"So…" I said awkwardly. "I think I'm going to go get some punch…"

They both raised an eyebrow as I quickly spun around and all but ran towards the beverage counter. I'd rather not stand around them as they glare at each other though, it was really awkward.

Just as I picked up a cup, I looked over and spotted Neville for the first time since he practically played match maker. I narrowed my eyes and set down the cup and walked over to where he was standing and talking to Seamus about something. When I made it over to him, I prodded his shoulder and he turned around and practically cowered away from me.

"We need to talk," I said and dragged him away from his friends.

"About what?" Neville asked nervously.

"You know that you nearly had Vector and George fighting," I said.

"It's going to happen sooner or later anyway," he shrugged.

I threw him a look and he stepped back as though he was about to get hit upside the head. Now that I thought about it, hitting him wouldn't be such a bad idea…

"Even so, they can't be fighting here…" I said. "There are entirely too many people and…they shouldn't be fighting in the first place."

"Hey, you should be thanking me," Neville said. "I just hooked you up with lover boy."

He threw me a huge smile and nodded as if he was admiring a piece of art that he had just created. I rolled my eyes.

"You're an idiot," I laughed. "But thank you."

I brought him forward in a hug. Seriously, I really should be thanking him. He was the one that threw us together, but it probably could have been done differently. Then again, if it had been my way, George probably would have never made a move in the first place.

"Be careful now," Neville laughed and backed out of the hug. "I don't need to be brought in this love triangle too."

"You're hilarious," I laughed and nudged him in the arm.

"So Vector was really that angry, was he?" Neville asked as he looked around at Vector who was now sitting on a bench looking angrier than ever.

"Yeah, he nearly punched George…" I muttered. "Snape had to come over and stop them."

"I saw that," Neville said. "It's funny how neither one of them even tried to use magic on each other. Must have forgotten it…"

I looked back over at Vector sympathetically. I didn't mean for him to get hurt, but he must have known that something like this could have happened. Did he really not notice that George was always around? Everyone else acted as though George was making it very obvious that he loved me.

"Maybe you should go talk to him," Neville said following my eyes. "You probably owe him that much."

"I guess so…" I said. "What could I tell him though? Sorry that you ran into me snogging some other guy while we were on a date? Something tells me that he wouldn't appreciate that."

"I don't know…" Neville said. "Tell him that you're sorry that it didn't work out, I guess. It's worth a shot anyway."

"Fine," I muttered.

"Good luck!" he called as I walked over to Vector.

I looked around the crowd and found George talking animatedly to Fred. When Fred caught my eye, he winked and gave me a thumbs up. I guess that he had seen us too. When Vector saw me, he refused to look me in the eye as I sat down next to him on the bench.

"I'm really sorry Vector," I started.

"You're sorry that you kissed him?" Vector scoffed. "That's a laugh."

"No, I'm not sorry about that," I said bluntly. "I'm just sorry that I hurt you, I didn't want that."

"If you liked him so much then why did you even bother with me?" he asked. "Or were you just using me to get him jealous?"

"No, you're a good guy," I said. "But…maybe you just aren't the guy for me."

When he looked down at the ground again, I really realized that I felt pity for Vector Krum. Did he really like me that much? I thought that it was just some stupid crush that he had on me…

"I really am sorry though," I sighed. "I just don't know what to tell you."

"I guess that it should have been more obvious from the start," Vector said. "He was always around you and I should have guessed it by the way that he treated me…"

"Yeah…" I said awkwardly.

I wasn't lying though, I was sorry for hurting him. I just really didn't know what to say to him. I never really did feel the way that he felt for me, I had always felt that way for George.

"Well, don't let me spoil this for you," Vector sighed. "Go enjoy the rest of the ball with him, I'll be fine."

"Well, I-" I started.

"I'm serious, you don't have to worry about it," Vector said. "I'll find someone else to talk to, go spend your time with Weasley - I mean George."

He was trying to be sincere, but I could still tell that he was a bit upset. He was right though, he could easily find someone else that would be happy to have him - it wouldn't be difficult for him to do because he really did have a good heart.

"Thank you Vector," I smiled.

I stood up and gave him a wave before I walked off in George's direction. I passed by Harry and Ron who both looked as miserable as they had when they first stepped into the Great Hall that evening. Both of them were staring after the girl that they had really wanted to be with. I wouldn't bother them though, they could sulk in silence for now. Finally, I made it over to where Fred and George were standing.

"Hey," I smiled at them.

"How's it going Potter?" Fred smiled. "I heard the brother here finally decided to make a move."

"Shut up," George nudged him.

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" he laughed.

I looked back around and found Vector talking to another girl in the distance, I guess that didn't take very long. Not far behind him, I caught Neville waving over at me. He motioned towards Vector with a questioning look on his face as if asking if everything was sorted out with him. I gave him a thumbs up and he smiled back and walked back into the dancing crowd of people.

"So are you two dating or what?" Fred asked bluntly.

"Um, I don't know," George said going a little pink. "We haven't really talked about it…"

"First Longbottom has to force you two together, now I have to," Fred muttered. "Just ask the girl mate! I'm sick of waiting around for it!"

I let out a little laugh at his bluntness with his brother. Then George turned to me and looked down at his shoes for a second before he spoke up.

"Well, would you like to be my girlfriend?" he asked nervously as his face deepened in color.

"I don't know, I'll have to think about it," I said while glancing sideways at Fred who looked as though he wanted to choke me. "I'm just kidding! Of course I'll be your girlfriend.""Brilliant," George said in relief.

"I could have killed you there for a minute," Fred said to me. "Don't joke around like that."

I rolled my eyes and looked around as I heard a disturbance going on behind me. I was shocked to see that it was Ron yelling at Hermione.

"He's from Durmstrang, Hermione!" Ron shouted. "He's Harry and Emily's competition! You're fraternizing with the enemy!"

"The _enemy_!" Hermione shouted back. "_You're_ the one that's wanted his autograph!"

"What does that matter!" Ron yelled as he grew red from anger. "He's just using you to get to Harry and Emily!"

"Why would he bother going through _me_!" Hermione shouted. "If he really wanted to get information, all he had to do was ask his brother - in case you've forgotten, he's going with Emily _himself_!""That's irrelevant!" Ron yelled.

"You're being ridiculous!" Hermione cried as she ran off in another direction.

Fantastic, now Hermione was upset because Ron was being an idiot. I turned back to Fred and George who both had their eyebrows raised and looked like they were ready to laugh. They found everything funny, didn't they?

"Ah, young love," Fred sighed. "Maybe he'll wake up like Georgy over here."

"It's hard to say," George sighed.

"I'm going to go talk to them," I rolled my eyes.

George almost looked like he was going to follow me, but Fred put a hand up as if to tell him to let me go over there myself. As I walked over there, it finally dawned on me that I was in a relationship with George. He was my boyfriend…wow…

I snapped back to reality and sat down in between Harry and Ron. Harry nodded in greeting, but Ron hardly took any notice as he glared forward in anger.

"So, are you having fun?" Harry nudged me with a put on smile to say that he wasn't having the slightest bit of fun.

"I can't say that tonight hasn't been interesting," I said.

"How's the love triangle coming along?" Harry asked. "Seems a bit of a mess if you ask me."

"Well, I believe that it's all cleared up now," I told him. "George and I are dating now."

"You're what?" Harry laughed. "Did he really ask you?"

"Just a minute ago actually," I said.

"And you didn't ask my permission?" he asked.

I hit him in the arm and he started laughing. I know that he was joking, but I thought back to what I had overheard him telling George the day before. He was protective and I guess I could understand that. If Harry was hurt by any girl, I would be forced to kill her or something - no one messes with my brother.

"Then I overheard a certain someone yelling at Hermione," I said darkly as I turned to Ron.

He threw me a look and I could tell that he was ready to choke me for even mentioning her name to him. It didn't matter though, he deserved to be hit now for the way he was talking to her.

"What is your problem?" I started the lecture. "Why would you talk to her like that? You know as well as I do that Hermione wouldn't sell out either of us to some guy that she just met."

"Actually-" Ron started.

"No, stop talking," I cut him off. "There is no need to take out your anger on Hermione, it isn't her fault that some other guy asked her to the ball before you did."

"Y-you're insane," he said in a sheepish voice. "I didn't want to go with Hermione…"

"Right," I muttered.

* * *

><p>By the time the end of the ball came, Harry and Ron were nowhere to be seen, so I assumed that they had gone back up to the common room. I had let in a few extra dances with George and then we decided to head on up to the tower because a lot of people were starting to leave and we didn't want to be the last ones there.<p>

"What did you tell Vector anyway," George asked as he took a hold of my hand. "He seemed to be a lot less angry."

"Well, basically I told him that he wasn't the guy for me," I said. "He seemed a bit upset, but I think he'll be okay."

"I'm sure," George said. "It must be upsetting though…"

"What?"

"You know, losing a woman to a much more…manly person," George said as he puffed his chest out.

"Oh, of course," I laughed. "The manliest of men."

"Don't forget it babe," he said with his chest still out.

I rolled my eyes just as we turned the corner to find Cedric talking to Harry in a very low tone. As we approached, Cedric was starting to walk away and when we caught up to him, Harry appeared to be extremely lost about something.

"What was that about?" I asked. "Something about the tournament?"

"I'm not really sure," Harry said in confusion. "He told me to go get a bath in the prefects bathroom."

"That's a bit insulting," George said.

"He told me to take my egg with me though," Harry said. "I don't really understand what he was talking about."

"Maybe because he thinks that it'll be empty and you can listen to the egg better," I suggested.

"That or he just thinks that you smell bad," George shrugged.

We laughed as we started walking towards the common room together. Harry kept glancing at our joined hands and glaring up at George. He is so weird, I swear. One moment he wants us to start dating, next thing you know, he's paranoid that George is going to hurt me.

As soon as we walked through the portrait of the Fat Lady, we heard yelling again. It was Hermione and Ron again and this time Hermione appeared to be heavily crying.

"Well, if you don't like it, you know what the solution is, don't you?" Hermione cried.

"What's that?" Ron yelled.

"Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!"

Hermione then cried harder as she ran up the stairs and disappeared into the girl's dormitories leaving all of us just standing there in astonishment.

"That just proves it then," Ron said sheepishly. "She completely missed the point!"

"I'm not so sure about that…" I said under my breath so he couldn't hear, but Harry and George could.

They looked at me and I could tell that both of them were in agreement with me. Ron was the one that missed the point - he just didn't understand that he was jealous I guess.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you all liked it! Tell me what you think!<strong>


	26. Where's Hagrid?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 26**

The following day everyone woke up late and all of the drama from the night before had calmed down significantly. Even though Ron and Hermione weren't yelling at each other anymore, it was obvious by their complete lack of conversation that there was still tension between them.

"Oh, Emily, we never told you," Ron said that morning in the common room. "Harry and I overheard Hagrid talking with Maxine and he said that he is a…half-giant."

I looked from Ron to Harry with a blank expression. Was this supposed to be a shock or were they just being stupid? Hermione sat down in the chair next to me just as I responded.

"What's your point?" I asked.

"Giants are known to be really violent," Ron said. "This could be really bad if it gets spread around."

"Isn't it a bit obvious?" Hermione asked as she began to pet Crookshanks. "He is a rather tall person. I just don't see why people are so prejudice against giants in the first place - I think that it's all a myth just like what they say about werewolves."

"Hagrid isn't a violent person anyway," I shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen anyway?"

As we were walking down to breakfast, I decided that now would be the best time to tell Hermione that George and I were officially dating now because I didn't want her to make any kind of scene while we were in the Great Hall that morning.

"He asked you?" she squealed. "How did he do it? What did he say? What about Vector - did he get mad? And what-?"

"Hermione - calm down!" I laughed. "He asked me not long after him and Vector got into it. I talked to Vector before George actually asked me and he seemed to be okay afterwards, so I think that he'll be fine."

"How did he do it?" she repeated with bright eyes.

"Well, Neville and Fred sort of pushed us together a bit," I said. "He just asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend."

"Was he nervous?" she said with a large smile.

"I suppose that he was," I said.

She continued to badger me with questions about George until we sat down at our table and I told her to let me eat in peace for once. She didn't seem too happy about it, so I guessed that she was going to bother me later about it.

* * *

><p>By the time it was February, neither myself nor Harry had even bothered to figure out the clue in the egg and our time was quickly running out. However, that wasn't what was on our minds when we walked down to Hagrid's hut that day for our Care of Magical Creatures lesson.<p>

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry asked us when we caught sight of the teacher ahead of us.

"No idea," Ron said. "Maybe he got hit by one of those shrewts."

Professor Grubbly-Plank announced that she was going to be the substitute for the class for a good while, but she never explained why exactly Hagrid needed someone to take his place for a while. So, we were completely lost as to why she had taken over all of a sudden.

"What happened to Hagrid?" Harry asked once she had finished talking.

"That's none of your concern," she said bluntly. "Now everyone follow me."

We all followed her towards the forest behind Hagrid's house to find a unicorn that was moving around in the grass, hardly even paying any attention to us. As soon as the rest of the class caught up, there were several "ooohs" and "awwws" from the classroom at the beautiful creature.

"I must warn all of the boys here - they prefer a woman's touch, so I suggest standing back," Professor Grubbly-Plank told everyone.

Hermione and I went up to get a better look at the unicorn, but I wasn't all that interested in learning about it because I was thinking too much about what had happened to Hagrid. Harry and Ron had mentioned before that he admitted to being a half-giant. Could that have been why he had been taken away? But that would be ridiculous, Hagrid wouldn't harm a fly! I was sort of hoping that he was just sick and that was all, but this happened so suddenly that it made me a bit suspicious.

When Hermione and I had finished looking at the unicorn, we went back to Harry and Ron to discover Draco talking to him and thrusting a newspaper at him. What was that about?

"What's going on?" I asked as I got over there.

"Take a look," Draco motioned to the paper.

Harry held the paper lower so that all of us could get a look at what Draco had wanted us to read. **(Author's Note: This piece is directly from the book, so if you've already read it, then you don't necessarily need to look over this. All rights go to J.K. Rowling)**

_DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE _

_Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures._

_Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore._

_Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates._

_An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures._

_While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening."_

_'I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything."_

_Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed "Blast-Ended Skrewts," highly dangerous crosses between manti-cores and fire-crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions._

_"I was just having some fun," he says, before hastily changing the subject._

_As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not - as he has always pretended - a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown._

_Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror._

_While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors_

_working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Frid-wulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature._

_In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought around You-Know-Who's fall from power - thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of the unpleasant truth about his large friend - but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with part-giants._

I finished up reading the article and glared up at Draco in anger. Why did he _always_ have to start some unnecessary trouble? Couldn't he just leave well enough alone? What did it matter to him that Hagrid was part giant - everyone knows that he is completely harmless.

"We don't all hate Hagrid, Malfoy," Harry growled.

"It doesn't matter," Draco sneered. "I want to see an end to his career. You see, I'm just trying to make sure he doesn't end up eating any of us."

"You-" Harry started.

"Pay attention!" Professor Grubbly-Plank yelled at them.

No one else talked for the rest of class, something that actually went fairly well for once. We learned a ton of information on unicorns and their habits and it was actually pretty interesting. It was a little sad though how everyone was so excited about Grubbly-Plank's lesson and no one even bothered to ask about Hagrid aside from Harry.

"You have to admit that it was a good lesson," Hermione said casually during lunch time. "We learned a lot during the lesson."

"That's true," I sighed. "But it's weird without Hagrid being there."

"Are you talking about Grubbly-Plank?" George asked as he sat down next to me.

I nodded, but was attempting to keep myself from laughing at the look on Hermione's face. She looked from George to me as if we were the greatest gift that she had ever received on Christmas or something. In my own opinion, I sometimes believed that she wanted us to be together more than anything in the world. Now she had her dream come true and she looked like she wanted to cry.

"I heard that she taught about unicorns," George said. "A lot different than what Hagrid used to teach."

"Well, there wasn't anything dangerous if that's what you mean," Neville shrugged.

"Don't you all have him with Slytherin though?" George asked.

"Unfortunately," I muttered.

"That's awful," George said. "I'm sure they had some _lovely_ things to say about that article about Hagrid."

"You should have heard Draco," I scoffed. "You would have thought that he personally escorted Hagrid off the grounds the way he was talking."

"What I want to know is how Rita Skeeter found out," Harry said.

"Maybe Hagrid told her…" Hermione suggested.

"He wouldn't even tell us Hermione," Harry said.

"Maybe she overheard him at the ball," Ron said. "He wasn't exactly being that quiet."

"She wasn't there, we would have seen her," Harry sighed.

"Well, it isn't really that hard to guess," George said. "He's not exactly the average height of a person."

"But it was so specific," Ron said. "How could she have known the details of it?"

It was really hard to determine how exactly she had managed to get the information, but as far as we knew, she was incredibly sneaky about doing it. Being part giant isn't something that Hagrid would go off telling people considering how many people looked down upon this breed, so she must have somehow overheard him talking about it with Maxine. There wasn't any other way that she could have known about it. She could have easily hidden just like Harry and Ron said that they had been doing. Besides, Rita Skeeter was a twisted woman - she would do anything for a story.

When we went to leave the Great Hall, I think that I nearly gave Hermione a heart attack by simply kissing George because I could tell that she was holding back a squeal and had a smile that nearly covered her entire face.

"Did you just kiss Weasley?" a voice scoffed behind me.

I turned to see Draco Malfoy standing there with his usual pack of followers. They all had a scowl on their faces.

"What's it to you?" George asked and narrowed his eyes.

"You can't tell me that you two are dating," Draco laughed.

"Actually, we are," I said. "So what?"

"She is way out of your league Weasley," Draco said.

"If my memory is correct Malfoy," George snarled. "Didn't you try to get with her last year? She said no, didn't she?"

"Only because she was intimidated," Draco cowered.

"I don't think so ferret," George spat. "She said no because you are a creepy asshole."

"Is that so Weasley-" Draco started.

"What's going on here?" a voice growled.

We all turned to see Moody stomping over towards us. At the sight of him, Draco immediately shut his mouth and quickly scampered away, his face becoming awfully pale. No doubt he remembered the incident with becoming a ferret very well.

"Get out of here," Moody growled. "Stop crowding the hallway."

George grabbed my hand and together we all walked towards the Gryffindor common room. It was weird because this was the second fight that George and Draco had nearly got into. Luckily enough, Moody was there to stop it before anyone threw a punch or a spell for that matter.

"He's such a creep," Harry said. "Why can't he get over the fact that Emily rejected him?"

"It's because I'm irresistible," I laughed. "Isn't it obvious?""Well-" George started.

"Watch yourself Weasley," Harry warned with a smile. "That's my sister you're talking about."

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! Tell me what you think and give me any suggestions if you think of any! <strong>


	27. Threaten Someone Who Cares

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 27**

**(Author's Note: I believe that I mentioned in a previous chapter that it was already February, something that I mistakenly did. Sorry about that, I was getting a little ahead in the story and made a mistake!)**

Finally the time came for another trip to Hogsmeade and I was more than excited to finally get out of the castle. Don't get me wrong - I love the place, but it can get a bit cramped sometimes when you stay inside so long. Hermione insisted that Harry and I stay back and work out the clue, but we managed to get by her by saying that we nearly figured it out.

"We really do need to work that egg out," I whispered to Harry on our walk over to Hogsmeade.

"We'll look into it tonight, okay?" he whispered.

I nodded and we quickly stopped talking about it as soon as Hermione and Ron caught up to us. When we got to the Three Broomsticks, we met up with Fred, George, and Neville and found a large table that we could all sit at.

"So how's that egg going?" George asked. "Is it still trying to make you go deaf?"

I got a sense that Hermione was listening in, so I knew that I wasn't going to be completely honest while she was around.

"Well, I've nearly figured it out," I said while giving him a look that said we'll talk about it later.

"Oh, that's great," he nodded as the waitress came over.

"What can I get for you?" she asked.

Hermione and I gave our orders while all of the guys practically drooled over our new waitress. She was pretty, but I don't see why they were acting like idiots in front of her. When I caught George checking her out, I nudged him in the side and he coughed in attempt to cover it up.

"What are you looking at George?" I asked.

"N-nothing at all babe," he smiled innocently.

"Mhmm," I muttered. "Sure you weren't."

"Busted..." Fred said as the waitress walked off.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," George said.

"Right," I laughed.

It was only a few minutes later when we caught sight of Ludo Bagman sitting amongst a group of goblins at a table nearby. He looked rather uncomfortable amongst them and was talking in a low voice. They all looked rather angry, so I assumed that the conversation wasn't going well. Once he finished talking to them, he quickly stood up and awkwardly walked away from them.

"I'll talk to you all in just a moment," he called back to them.

As soon as he escaped them, he quickly made his way towards where we were sitting. As soon as we were in range, he threw on a smile and started acting cheery.

"Why hello," he smiled at Harry and me. "I suppose the two of you are doing well."

"Sure..." Harry said skeptically.

"I was wondering if I could have a word with the both of you, if you don't mind," he said hopefully.

"Um...okay..." I said while standing up slowly with Harry.

As we walked over the other side of the pub, Harry and I exchanged looks of confusion. What did he want with us? Once we made it over to a private location, Bagman opened up again.

"I wanted to congratulate the both of you on your performance in the first task - it was absolutely splendid!" he said happily.

"Thanks," Harry and I said at once.

It was obvious that he wanted to say more than that though. Why else would he have separated us from everyone else just to congratulate us? I did happen to notice him staring skeptically over at the group of goblins that he had just been sitting with. They all looked fairly angry about something.

"It's horrible over there, you know?" he sighed. "They hardly speak any English at all - it's a nightmare trying to communicate with them."

"What do they want?" I asked while looking over at them.

"Well...they want to speak with Barty Crouch..." Bagman said uneasily.

"Why would they look for him here?" Harry asked. "You would think he would be in London at the Ministry."

"Well...no one really knows where he is," he admitted worriedly. "He hasn't been showing up to work lately - he's just been sending in his intrusions via owl to his assistant."

"Percy?" I asked.

"That explains why he was at the ball the other day," Harry said. "He told me that he was there filling in for Crouch...I didn't think about it at the time."

"Well, no one has seen him in a while..." Bagman said quietly. "Some people think he's gone missing like Bertha Jorkins..."

"Any word on where she is now?" Harry asked.

"No...but we have people looking," he said. "It's really odd though. She was seen last in Albania visiting some relatives. She just vanished without a trace...no one knows what happened."

We were silent for a moment before he quickly changed the subject to something else.

"How are the two of you getting along with that egg?" he asked suddenly.

"Er...we're doing fine..." I lied.

"Just so the two of you know..." he said quietly. "If either of you need any help with anything, just come to me."

"Aren't we supposed to work out the clues on our own?" Harry asked.

"Well, yes..." Bagman said. "But I've taken a liking to the two of you - we all want a Hogwarts champion."

"Have you offered help to Cedric then?" I asked while already knowing the answer.

"Er - no," he said. "I don't know - I've just taken a liking to you both."

"Well, I think that we can do this on our own," I said shortly.

"Just a few more days and we'll both have it worked out," Harry said.

When we got back to the table, Fred and George were already headed over towards Bagman for some odd reason. I ignored it and sat down next to the remaining people at our group.

"What did he want?" Neville asked.

"He wanted to help us with the tournament," Harry told them.

"That's cheating!" Hermione said. "He's one of the judges!"

"We turned him down Hermione - don't worry," I said.

"Good," she said. "I wouldn't trust that man if I were you two..."

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"I don't know - he seems a bit sketchy if you ask me," she said. "Did you see him talking to those goblins over there?"

"What did he want with him anyway?" Ron asked.

"They were looking for Crouch - apparently he's been missing for a while," I said.

"That's odd," Hermione said while looking over at the goblins.

"Speaking of odd, Emily did we ever tell you what we saw the other day?" Ron asked quietly.

"What?" I asked.

He looked around making sure no one was listening to us. For a moment, he looked hesitant to say anything in front of Neville, but then he probably remembered that he would figure it out anyway because I would end up telling him about it.

"Karkaroff was a Death Eater," he said in a tone that was hardly audible.

"What?" I asked. "How do you know?"

"We saw his mark," Harry whispered. "He was showing it to Snape when we walked by."

"He was showing it to Snape?" I asked quietly. "Why would he be showing him?"

"Honestly Emily - open your eyes," Ron whispered irritably. "Snape was a Death Eater, isn't it obvious?"

"Well, he isn't anymore," I said sourly.

"Says who?" Ron snorted.

"Dumbledore trusts him," I said angrily. "Doesn't that mean anything to anyone?"

"It should," Hermione said. "Snape is trusted for a reason - you all should respect him."

"And what reason is that?" Ron asked.

"It was enough to convince Dumbledore," I said shortly. "That's good enough for me."

Ron still didn't look convinced, but it didn't matter to me. I don't need to explain myself to him because he would never listen to what I had to say. Just then, I got distracted when the door flew open to reveal Rita Skeeter.

"Oh no..." Hermione muttered.

She was going on and on about something with Ludo Bagman. Apparently she had tried to make some kind of story about him a moment ago and he ran off before she could.

"He is such a bad liar - he should have known that I would notice," she rolled her eyes that were covered in heavily colored shades of yellow. "We'll just have to fit a story in-"

"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" Harry asked loudly.

She stopped talking and raised an eyebrow in Harry's direction.

"Oh Harry," she said. "I see that you and Emily are both here - maybe we could have a word-"

"There is no way in he'll I will have a word with you," he snarled. "Why did you have to do that to Hagrid? He never did anything to you!"

At this point, everyone in the pub was listening in. I'm not saying that Harry was wrong for saying this to her, but I knew that she wasn't going to take this lightly. I had no doubt in my mind that this was going to turn out ugly.

"Everyone has the right to know the truth Harry," she smiled nastily. "It was about time someone recognized it-"

"Who cares if he's part giant," Harry said. "He's never harmed anyone!"

"It's interesting that you say that," Rita Skeeter said as she pulled out her Quick-Quotes Quill. "Perhaps you could give me an interview about the Hagrid that you know."

"You're a horrible woman!" Hermione said with a shaky voice. "You'll do anything for a story - you don't care if you hurt anyone in the process!"

"Shut up you silly girl!" she shouted. "Don't speak about things that you don't know anything about!"

"Don't talk to her like that," I said. "Who do you think you are?"

"Don't you dare speak to me like that you stupid child!" she shouted.

"Don't speak to her like that!" Neville said suddenly. "She is not stupid!"

"Oh, isn't that just cute," she snarled. "I can talk to her however I please you ungrateful-"

"Enough!" I said. "Let's go."

We all stood up and headed out for the door. Just as we passed her, I made sure to run directly into her side to knock her over a little bit. She gasped and began yelling more.

"Just you wait Emily Potter," she snarled. "I'll bury you with the things I can right."

"Threaten someone who cares, bitch," I snorted.

I didn't hear anything else because the door was shut and we were already walking away from the pub. Hermione looked angrier than I had seen her in a while and Harry was just the same.

"You all shouldn't have done that," Ron said. "She'll make your life a living hell."

"And that's any different from it is now?" I laughed. "What could she possibly say?"

"She could come up with anything," Neville said. "My Gran's told me all about her and what she writes. She's a terrible woman, she is."

"Well, I'm sure she'll write about you too," I told him. "You shouldn't have said anything."

"Well, it's too late now," Ron said. "I'm sure she's coming up with a few stories as we speak. She's not going to forget this."

We continued to walk in the direction of the castle when we decided that we were going to make a stop by Hagrid's house. We had to tell him that it didn't matter to us what he was. It shouldn't matter to anyone really. As soon as we got in front of his house, Hermione stomped right up to the door and proceeded to start beating on the door.

"Open up Hagrid," Hermione demanded. "It's us - we don't care that you're part giant!"

Just as she was about to start knocking on the door again, it swung open and we saw, not Hagrid, but Dumbledore standing at the door with a raised eyebrow and looking slightly amused that Hermione was just yelling.

"Good afternoon," he said casually.

"Oh," Hermione said suddenly. "I'm sorry - we...er...wanted to speak with Hagrid."

"I believe I understood that much," he smiled. "Come on in."

We all stepped into the hut, Neville looking slightly confused since this was his first time in Hagrid's home, and we all saw Hagrid sitting at his table with a sorrowful expression. He had been crying, there was no doubt about that.

"Hey Hagrid," I smiled at him.

"Hi..." he said miserably.

Dumbledore smiled and walked over towards the kitchen where he poured some tea for all of us and then continued to talk to Hagrid.

"Did you happen to hear what Miss Granger was yelling?" he asked Hagrid.

Hagrid nodded and looked down at the ground in shame. Apparently it didn't matter what we had said - he was still upset.

"They still want you in their lives," Dumbledore said calmly. "They know that you're a good person no matter what your heritage may be. They made that very obvious when they attempted to break down the door to tell you so."

Hagrid sniffed and wiped his nose with a tissue that he was holding in his hand. A few more tears escaped his eyes just as Harry spoke up.

"Of course we still want you here Hagrid!" Harry said. "It doesn't matter what that Skeeter cow said about you - sorry Professor."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Harry," Dumbledore smiled at the ceiling.

"Right, well you shouldn't listen to her," Harry told Hagrid.

"He's right Hagrid," I said. "It doesn't matter to anyone that you're part giant - you're still one of the nicest people that I know. Being part giant doesn't effect that at all!"

"Exactly what I've been saying," Dumbledore nodded.

"Just come back and teach," I said. "We all miss you."

Everyone else agreed with me and I think that it helped him a little bit more. He was still a bit upset, but I think that we might have changed his mind at least.

"Well, I believe that it's settled," Dumbledore stood up. "Hagrid, I refuse to accept your resignation and I expect you to be back to work on Monday. Good afternoon to you all."

He then made his way towards the door and began his journey back to the castle. I suppose that he just didn't want to hear anymore of it because he knew that we would convince him to stay and teach. In fact, I don't think that he would ever allow Hagrid to quit.

"He's a good man, Dumbledore," Hagrid sniffed. "He was good ter me when I came ter Hogwarts. Ya see, me dad didn't think I was going ter be a wizard 'cause my mum was...well, ya know...my dad was so proud when I got here...he died 'fore I got expelled..."

"I'm so sorry Hagrid," Hermione said.

"It's fine 'ermione," he said. "Yer know, you two remind me a bit o' meself when I first got here - 'arry and Emily, I mean. Both yer parents dead, not thinking that you'd fit in. But yer did good! I suppose Neville here is a bit-"

"Everything's okay now though," I cut him off quickly.

I had to stop him before he finished what he was saying. I didn't want anyone to know what had happened to Neville's parents and I knew that he was about to tell them all - I just couldn't let him. By the look on Neville's face, I could tell that he was thankful. He didn't want anyone to know just yet, and I couldn't really blame him.

"I suppose," Hagrid said. "Now the two of ya are Hogwarts champion - who would've guessed that ter happen! How are ya doin' on yer egg by the way?"

"Oh, everything's going fine..." we said slowly.

"There ya go!" Hagrid smiled. "I knew that the two of ya could do it - ya might even win - one of ya!"

We didn't like lying to Hagrid. It was different because of how he reacted - he really believed us. He honestly thought that we had a chance at winning and it made him really happy and proud. It made me feel ashamed that I hadn't even attempted to try to work out this clue.

I guess that we were going to have to start thinking.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it. I'm really sorry that this chapter is so late! I'm really getting inconsistent with putting my chapters up, but there really has been a lot going on. I hope that I'll get back on track soon and I hope you all can forgive me.<strong>

**I would also like to apologize in saying that this story is starting to become to much of a romance. A lot of people have been telling me this and I wanted to let you know that it's only temporary and I hope that this chapter wasn't too bad in that aspect.**

**Okay, well, that's all for now! Tell me what you think!**


	28. A Midnight Bath

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 28**

On Thursday night, Harry and I finally decided that we were going to use Cedric's hint about the egg. He was going to go to the prefects bathroom Cedric told him about on the fifth floor while I went to a girls bathroom on the same floor that was nearby.

We waited until everyone went to sleep and then we headed out towards the bathrooms underneath the Invisibility Cloak and soon enough, we were making our way towards the bathrooms. We had to make sure we weren't seen because it was after hours - not like I hadn't been caught after hours before.

We made it to the girl's bathrooms first, so I quickly walked in there. As soon as the door closed and Harry was gone, I grabbed for the egg and took a good look at it. There wasn't an inscription on it, so it must be something with the screaming that I had to identify.

Wonderful.

I stepped towards one of the baths nearby and pulled a curtain around, just in case...I ran some water and before long I was sitting in the large bathtub wondering what exactly I was supposed to be doing.

I sighed and picked up the egg and braced myself before I turned the knob that opened it up. A loud, piercing scream filled the bathroom. I wanted to make it stop, but I tried to listen for some kind of message. After a moment, I determined that it was just screaming - there wasn't any kind of message in it, so I shut it quickly.

How were we supposed to get any kind of message out of something that was constantly screaming to the point that we were almost deaf? It wasn't even like there was any kind of change in the pitch of the noise - it was just that: noise. What message could possibly be in that? Maybe it was saying that we were going to have to deal with something that involved losing your hearing. I had no idea.

Then I got to thinking. Why would Cedric tell us to go to a bathroom of all places? Yes, it is rather quiet in here, but there are plenty of quiet places in the castle during the night time. Maybe there was more to the clue than I was actually thinking about - maybe it required something inside of the bathroom. Other than the oh so convenient toilets that were in here, what was so different about the bathroom that might require our attention

Then it dawned on me - water. There wasn't really any sort of access to water throughout the school aside from the kitchen. Perhaps that was what Cedric had been hinting at to Harry. Maybe water had to be used to discover what the clue inside of the egg was. Slowly, I picked the egg up and submerged it into the water. Even if it didn't help at all, maybe the water would muffle the screams that it was letting out. Then, hesitantly, I began to open up the egg. There was nothing - no screaming at all. Then I heard the faint sound of something that almost seamed like...singing? Without even thinking twice about it, I dove down into the water and realized that this was exactly what Cedric meant for us to do.

"Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour- the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it wont come back"

As soon as the song finished, I went back up for air. What did it mean? I went back underwater a few more times and finally decided that I understood what it was saying. As I stepped out of the water and got ready to head back up to the common room, I started to think about what the clue meant. We were going to have to stay underwater for an hour in order to find something important that they took from us. I also assumed that this event was going to have to take place in the Black Lake - where else could it possibly mean? But how was it possible to search for something that was underwater for an entire hour? I guess that I'd have to talk to some people about that possibility.

Just as I was about to step out of the door, I remembered that Harry had the Invisibility Cloak with him and he wanted me to wait for him to come and get me so we wouldn't get caught. Then again, I had been caught so many times after hours that I hardly even thought it would matter anyways. Then again, there wasn't any kind of guarantee that it was going to be Snape that was watching the hallways. I waited a couple of minutes and then decided that I would at least take a look around outside to see if anyone was out there.

Just as I began to open the door, I heard a large smash around where the staircase was. Not long afterwards, I watched as a single, golden egg rolled down from out of nowhere along with a small bit of parchment that I assumed to be the map. It was Harry and I had a feeling that he had just gotten his foot stuck in that one step that Neville always got stuck in. The amount of times I've had to pull Neville out of that very spot gave me that sort of idea. But why was he already going up the steps? I thought that he was going to come by and get me. Maybe he'd forgotten in the midst of figuring out the clue. I started to step out of the bathroom when I heard someone come around the corner - it was Filch with Mrs. Norris trailing closely behind him.

"PEEVES!" he was shouting.

So he had mistaken the racket that Harry had made for some kind of prank that Peeves was doing. Now that I actually thought about it, it was a very likely story. That was exactly the sort of thing that Peeves would do to a person like Filch - the two absolutely hated each other. I closed the door to the point where I could see through a crack in the space and watched as Filch stepped closer towards where I was guessing Harry was standing with his foot caught. That's when he found the egg and I knew that there was going to be some kind of trouble.

"An egg?" Filch croaked. "What is an egg doing here - wait a minute. This is a Triwizard clue! PEEVES, YOU'VE BEEN STEALING FROM THE CHAMPIONS?"

Both Filch and Mrs. Norris immediately began to search the area for the poltergeist that I knew wasn't there. Filch continued to yell around telling Peeves that he was going to get him for this when someone else suddenly came into the picture. It was Snape and he didn't look very happy - then again, he normally didn't look happy to begin with.

"What is going on here?" Snape asked with narrowed eyes.

"It's Peeves - he's been stealing!" Filch explained angrily pointing at the egg that he was carrying. "He threw this down the staircase!"

"Peeves?" Snape asked. "But he couldn't get into my office..."

"What do you mean?" Filch asked. "Was the egg in your office? What were you doing with it-?"

"It wasn't in my office," Snape said irritably. "My door was ajar just a moment ago and the torches were lit - someone was in there just a moment ago!"

"But Peeves-" Filch started.

"Peeves couldn't get in there, I already know this!" Snape snarled. "It was a wizard that was in there."

"But if Peeves has been stealing - " Filch said.

"Enough about this damned poltergeist Filch," Snape spat. "I want to know who was in my stores and I have a feeling that it was a student!"

That's when a familiar clunking sound came around another corner. Moody entered into the area and both of them stopped talking as he approached them, his eye roaming all over the place. I looked back towards the map and realized in horror what could very well happen. I didn't doubt for a second that Harry had been able to wipe that map clean before he dropped it onto the ground, so it was still open for anyone to see. If any of the teachers were to pick up the map, they would immediately notice that Harry was standing right there and they would blame him for going through Snape's cabinet stores. What was I going to do - I had to make sure they wouldn't find that map.

But what was I going to do?

"You said that someone broke into your office?" Moody growled.

"That's not your concern," Snape muttered.

"Who would want to break into your office?" Moody asked while completely ignoring Snape's last comment.

"I would assume that it was a student," Snape said. "It's happened before, they come and steal the ingredients..."

"Are you sure that it's potions ingredients that they're after?" Moody growled. "Perhaps there is something else in your office that they're after."

Oh here we go again, someone else that wouldn't trust Snape. Then again, now that I thought about it, Moody didn't seem to trust anyone that came around him. It's been a rumor around the school that he thinks that each one of the students is plotting his murder in some way. No wonder they call him mad...

"You know that there isn't anything hidden in my office," Snape said dangerously. "You've searched it yourself."

"Enough of this," Moody growled. "Go back to bed - I need to find out what this noise was all about."

"You haven't the authority to send me anywhere," Snape said while narrowing his eyes. "I have every right to wander the school as I please."

That's ironic - he's always sending me away for doing the very same thing. Bit of a hypocrite that man is...

"Do what you want Snape," Moody said. "You've dropped something by the way."

I looked down in horror at the object that Moody was pointing to and saw that it was the Marauders Map. I set my stuff down quickly in a hidden corner and sprung out of the bathroom just as Snape went to reach for it.

"That's mine," I said quickly.

Moody and Snape suddenly stopped what they were doing as I jumped forward and took the map into my hand. They both raised an eyebrow and I just stood there awkwardly as they stared at me in curiosity - probably wondering how long I had been there.

"What do you think you're doing Miss Potter?" Snape asked.

"I was...taking a bath," I said slowly. "I am allowed to do that, right? It's not against the law..."

"It's after hours," Moody said.

"Not like that even matters to her..." Snape muttered.

There was silence for a moment when I noticed Snape looking from the map to the egg and then back at me with a look of sudden realization.

"Potter..." he muttered.

"What?" I asked.

"Not you - your brother," Snape said.

"What about him?" Moody asked.

"That egg is his and so is that parchment - I recognize it, I've seen it before," Snape said. "You're just covering up for him - aren't you?"

"No, the egg is mine as well," I said quickly.

"You're lying - I can tell," Snape said slowly.

"Very quick to blame the boy Snape," Moody said. "I'm sure that Dumbledore will be very interested in hearing about this."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Snape snarled.

"Dumbledore's very interested to see who's got it in for that boy," Moody said menacingly.

"I was just thinking of his safety," Snape said quickly. "I do realize that both him and his sister have the unfortunate habit of lurking around after hours."

"And how do you know this Snape?" Moody asked. "Been paying a lot of attention to them, have you?"

"Someone is out to get them," Snape said. "What do you expect?"

"That's just what you want us to think-" Moody started.

"He's not trying to kill us Professor," I said.

They both turned back to me, probably just remembering that I was standing right there. I had no doubt that they had gotten so caught up in their fighting that they had forgotten that I had even shown up.

"Whatever you say Miss Potter," Moody said while eyeing Snape suspiciously. "I expect you both to take caution with this man though."

I raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Snape for a moment to see him glaring at Moody. They were going to murder each other before the night was over...

"Give Potter her egg Filch," Moody ordered.

"But this is evidence of what Filch has done-" Filch started.

"It's her property Filch, give it back," Moody said.

He seemed very unwilling to do so, but finally he handed the large golden egg over to me before he stomped off angrily in another direction where I would assume he was going to sulk.

"Well, I believe that you should head back up to your tower Miss Potter," Snape said.

"I'll take her," Moody growled.

"I am perfectly capable of doing just that," Snape snarled.

"It's fine Se-Snape," I said. "I can go myself, I don't need to be escorted."

He glared over at Moody for a moment before nodding and then he continued down the steps and before long it was just Moody and myself. Normally, I wouldn't have minded walking with Snape for a bit, but I knew that might require moving around Harry and that would mean that he would get in serious trouble.

"Close shave, Potter," Moody muttered. "You're lucky to have your sister here."

"Yeah, thanks Emily," Harry said as he took his Invisibility Cloak off.

"No problem..." I said.

Moody stumbled over towards where Harry was sitting on the ground, still stuck in that one step. He grabbed onto my brother's arm and effortlessly yanked him out of the step.

"What is that anyway?" Moody asked while motioning to the map.

"Oh, it's a map of Hogwarts," Harry said.

"Could I see it?" he asked.

I shrugged and handed it over. He knew what it was anyway, so I guess there wasn't any harm in letting him look at it.

"This is a nice map..." Moody said while looking around it. "Did you happen to see who was going into Snape's office?"

"It said that it was Mr. Crouch," Harry said.

"Crouch?" he asked suddenly. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Harry said.

"That's very interesting," Moody said. "Would you mind if I borrowed this map for a little while - just to keep an eye on everything in the castle..."

"Oh, sure," Harry said.

"Great, great," Moody said. "Well, I guess that you should be off to bed then."

"Right," Harry said. "I guess we'll see you tomorrow then."

We then departed and headed back up to the tower together just after I made a stop by the bathroom to gather all of my things. Just before we made it to the Fat Lady, I stopped Harry to ask him something that I had been wondering about since he had brought it up to Moody just a moment ago.

"You said that you saw Crouch on the map?" I asked him.

"Yeah, he was standing around Snape's office," Harry said quietly. "I was going to see what he was doing when I got stuck."

"What is Crouch doing here?" I asked him. "I thought that Bagman said he hasn't been seen in a long time."

"I know..." Harry said. "I was thinking the same thing. Too bad I didn't actually get to catch him there..."

We didn't talk much more about it and then we headed back up to the dormitories where we set all of our things down before we headed off to bed.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I know that there wasn't much, but the next chapter is most likely going to include the second task, so there's that to look forward to I guess. Tell me what you think!<strong>


	29. Ideas That Are Better Than Drowning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 29**

"I thought that you two had already figured out the clue?" Hermione asked in Charms class the next day.

"Well, we did," Harry lied. "We just…we just needed to make sure…"

We were all supposed to be practicing Banishing charms in class today, but the three of us figured that we had more important things to do - such as figuring out how we weren't going to drown during the next tournament. Earlier this morning, Harry and I had discussed what exactly our plan was going to be. Unfortunately, neither of us had one. Harry didn't want to talk about that though. He was more interested in the incident between Moody and Snape the night before.

"He searched through Snape's office?" Ron asked after Harry finished explaining. "What do you reckon he did that for? Maybe that's what Dumbledore hired him to do in the first place - you know, keep an eye on Snape and Karkaroff."

"I don't know," Harry said. "It's fairly likely anyway."

"Wait a minute," Ron said suddenly as he sent a pillow flying in the opposite direction. "What if Moody thinks that Snape put your names into the Goblet of Fire?"

"Oh come off it," I said angrily. "It wasn't him - stop blaming Snape for _everything_!"

Out of anger, I quickly banished away an object close to me and sent it soaring for the target that was set up for us to hit. Not that anyone was actually aiming for this target, but I figured that it was better than aiming it at Ron's head like I really wanted to do.

"She's right Ron," Hermione sighed and sent something towards the target. "You both blame Snape for everything and you've always been wrong."

For the remainder of the class period, we all went back and forth on why we thought that Snape's office was being searched. Of course, no one wanted to listen to my rant on Moody and how he was just being paranoid and how he really was mad. All they wanted to do was talk about how Snape was planning our murder. They were just as bad as Moody sometimes.

"What are we going to do about this task?" I asked once we were heading out of class.

"You're idea is as good as mine," Harry sighed. "I have no idea…"

"If only we had learned to do Transfiguration on humans!" Hermione said. "But it's far too risky to try that now."

"I wonder where we're going to go now," Ron said in a false-cheery voice.

We all laughed because we knew exactly where Hermione was going to take us. When in doubt, she always took us to the library even if no one wanted to go in the first place. But I guess that we didn't have much choice anyway - we had to come up with a plan unless we planned on drowning. All of us spent hours searching through all different types of books, but it was no use. None of us were able to find anything.

The only thing decent that happened was two days before the task when the familiar barn owl came with a letter from Sirius. It was rather disappointing though because of how short it was and what exactly it requested.

"Why does he want to know when the next visit to Hogsmeade is?" Harry asked.

"Who knows," I sighed. "It's the weekend after next though - send that back to him."

There wasn't any hiding from the second task though. On the evening before the tournament, I had a group of people sitting in the library with me. There was Harry, Ron, Hermione, and George who were all trying to help us come up with something.

"This is ridiculous," I sighed and put my head down into a book. "There is _no way_ that we're going to make it through this one!"

"I'm sure we'll find something," George sighed and rubbed my back.

"Well, we haven't found anything yet…" Harry said. "And it's tomorrow morning, so the odds aren't exactly in our favor."

We continued to search for some kind of charm for a long time before Neville showed up looking for the majority of our group.

"Come to help?" George asked. "We could sure use it."

"Actually, I came here to fetch a few of you," Neville said. "McGonagall said that she wants you, Ron, and Hermione up in her office now."

"What for?" Ron asked.

"No idea," he shrugged. "She looked kind of angry though."

They all wished us good luck before they left the library. However, Neville decided that he'd stay and help because everyone else had to leave. He wasn't much help though, then again, no one had been much help considering we hadn't found anything.

"Well, that's that," Harry slammed a book shut. "I'm finished - I don't care anymore. I'd rather drown in the lake tomorrow than look at another book. Good-night."

We watched as Harry angrily stomped out of the library. I couldn't half blame him either. This was getting a bit aggravating. I couldn't believe that it was this difficult to find something that could help you breathe underwater.

Neville and I didn't stay in the library much longer because Madam Prince said that the library was shutting down for the night. She had kept it open extremely late just so we could look further, but it didn't help much. It was midnight now, so I couldn't imagine that she wanted to deal with us any longer now. With complete loss of hope, both of us walked out of the library and back up towards the common room.

When we got there, I couldn't go to sleep. I just sat down in the common room because I knew that there was no hope of even getting a single second worth of sleep knowing that there wasn't anything we could do to prepare for tomorrow. Neville sat down with me, but I could tell that he was just trying to help me because he looked completely exhausted.

"We're going to die," I sighed. "This is it…"

"Come on," Neville said. "There has to be something - anything!"

"We just looked through _everything_!" I said. "There isn't anything in that library that could help us - there isn't a single charm."

We stayed silent for a moment, because we both knew that I was right. We had no plan. It was going to be a bit embarrassing when Harry and I showed up to the black lake the next morning…

"Does it have to be a charm?" Neville asked suddenly.

"What?" I asked. "Well, I guess not."

"What about a plant?" he said.

I looked up from my chair and right at him. What was he talking about?

"What if you used Gillyweed?" he stood up suddenly.

"What's that?" I asked.

"But where would we get it?" Neville said as he began to pace. "I'm not sure if Professor Sprout has it…it's not a very common plant…perhaps Professor Snape has it…maybe we could go by and ask…"

He had gone to talking to himself at this point because I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. I had never heard of this sort of plant, then again, Neville was obsessed with learning about plants. He knew more about them than anything else in the world.

"Neville, what is-?" I started.

"Let's go now," he demanded.

Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and pulled me up out of my chair. Before I knew it, I was being all but dragged out of the common room and out into the halls of the school. I was about to protest and say that it was after hours, but when was that ever relevant?

"Neville - hold on!" I said and tried to stop, but he was pulling me right along.

"What - we have to go there now," Neville said. "He might have it in his store!"

"Have WHAT?" I asked.

"Gillyweed," he said simply as we turned around the corner.

"And that is?" I asked.

"It's a plant - it can allow you to breathe underwater," he said quickly. "It's rather rare though, so it's difficult to come by."

"And this can't wait until tomorrow?" I asked. "Snape's probably asleep by now - it's nearly two in the morning!"

"Oh please," Neville laughed. "The amount of times you have been caught by him after hours and you honestly believe that the man sleeps at a decent hour?"

"Good point…" I murmured.

Before long, we were down the staircases and standing at the foot of Snape's door. I could hear someone's footsteps going around in the office, so I knew that he wasn't asleep - just as Neville had predicted. We knocked on the door and stepped back, just in case he decided to barge out.

"Come in?" Snape said skeptically.

I opened up the door and walked in to find Snape putting a large stack of books back into a shelf. When he saw us standing there, he raised an eyebrow. His eyes went from Neville, to me, then to our hands that were still joined together. When we noticed this, we quickly separated and looked around awkwardly.

"Can I help you?" Snape sighed.

"We were wondering if you had any filly-" I started.

"Gillyweed, sir," Neville said nervously - he was still scared of Snape.

"For what, may I ask?" he asked as he set another book in the case.

"It's for the tournament tomorrow," I said. "We have to be able to breath underwater."

"Right…" Snape muttered.

Neville and I looked at each other and back at him in confusion. Did he not understand or what?

"Well…can we use some?" I asked. "Please?"

"I guess so," he sighed. "It's in the stores…"

"Can I…?" Neville asked while pointing in the direction of the stores.

"Don't touch anything else in there Longbottom…" Snape muttered.

Neville nodded and quickly walked over towards the cabinets. I would have done it myself, but I didn't even know what this looked like, so I left it up to him. I walked over and helped Snape put the last of the books back in their proper spot.

"Shouldn't you have gotten this earlier?" Snape asked. "It's kind of late."

"Well, Neville just thought of it," I said.

"So what were you planning on doing before Longbottom came up with that idea?" Snape asked.

"Drowning was my best bet," I nodded.

Snape rolled his eyes just as Neville came out with an odd looking herb in his hands. It looked disgusting, but I imagined that this was my only hope on not dying, so it would have to do.

"And your brother?" Snape asked. "What are his plans?"

"If you don't mind, I would like to take some for him as well," I said.

"He can have some," Snape said. "If he comes to get it himself. He has to have some responsibility, right?"

"I guess," I said. "So, I'll send him down tomorrow morning, if that's okay."

"Sure…" Snape muttered.

There was a moment of awkward silence and Neville looked as though he wanted to crawl into the nearest hole just to get away from the potions master. It would have been amusing if I wasn't still nervous about the next task. Now that I had a plan, I realized that I would actually have to participate.

"Go to bed," Snape said. "The both of you look tired."

"Yes sir," I nodded with a smile.

Neville and I walked off towards the door without any argument. Just as I was about to step out, Snape spoke up again.

"Good luck with the task tomorrow," Snape said. "Though I'm sure you'll do just fine…I never had any doubt about that…"

…

The next morning was an absolute hassle. I didn't get hardly any sleep at all before I was woken up by one of the other girls in the room who said that I should be waking around then. When I got down to breakfast, I couldn't eat even if I really wanted to.

"Where's Harry?" I asked Neville.

"I think that he's still sleeping," he told me. "I didn't want to wake him up because I figured he could use all the sleep he can get…"

"That's true…" I said. "But he also needs to stop by Snape's stores to get that plant."

"I left a note there, so he should be fine," he nodded his head.

Then I realized something. No one else had joined us for breakfast yet - Ron, Hermione, and George were all missing from our little group. I looked across the table a little ways and saw Fred and Lee Jordan sitting together.

"Hey Fred - have you seen George?" I called over to him.

"No, he didn't come in last night," he told me. "I thought he was with you, if you know what I mean."

He winked and I rolled my eyes and let out a small laugh. I couldn't help but wonder where they all were though. I hadn't seen them since they were called out of the library the night before. What had McGonagall wanted with them? I wonder if they would be back before the tournament started…

Harry never showed up and neither did any of the other three that were missing. I wanted to go up to Harry's room to see if he was there, but McGonagall told me that I had to go down to the lake with all of the other champions. She assured me that he would be checked on before the task started.

"Where could all of them be?" I asked Neville irritably on our way down to the lake. "You would _think_ that they would want to support us anyway…"

"I'm sure that something came up," Neville said. "They'll be here soon enough - don't worry."

"Yeah…well…it's getting irritating…" I mumbled.

Before long, I was standing around with the rest of the champions who all raised an eyebrow when I showed up with Neville and not with Harry.

"That iz not ze right boy," Fleur said. "Where iz he?"

"He's running a bit late," I said.

Neville couldn't stand with me much longer before the judges came over to give us a little bit of instruction. Not that we really did get any instruction from them considering they weren't supposed to help us.

"Emily, where is your brother?" Dumbledore asked me.

"Funny, I was just about to ask the same thing…" I said while looking around.

The stadium around us was filled with people already and I still hadn't seen Harry at all. Where was he? The entire school along with the other two visiting schools were already seated, so I could only imagine that he would be arriving soon.

Just when I started to panic, I saw his messy black hair amongst a group of late arrivals. He seemed to be in a bit of a panic and I started to wonder whether or not Snape had given him the gillyweed. That's when I saw it sitting in his hands.

"I'm here - I'm here!" he shouted.

"Well it's about time," Percy Weasley said annoyingly. "The task is about to start - where have you been?"

"How about you calm yourself down there Weasley," I said. "Let him catch his breath!"

"Are you all right Harry?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Fine, just fine," Harry answered.

He gave me a look that told me that we would talk about it later. Thankfully enough, there was a high possibility that there actually was going to be a later at this point in time. I could only wonder what was lying beneath the water that was in front of us.

"Okay, are we all ready?" Bagman asked us.

"I think that we're about as ready as we'll ever be," I answered.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I know that was an odd place to stop the chapter, but I didn't want to start off the second task yet. I sort of wanted it to have its own chapter, I hope that you all won't get too angry with me about that. Well, it's for certain this time - the second task WILL be in the next chapter - sorry for saying that last time.<strong>

**Tell me what you think!**


	30. Breathing Underwater

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 30**

"Welcome all to the second task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Bagman announced to the crowd. "They have precisely one hour to recover what's been taken from them - on the count of three they will begin!"

All the champions stood at the foot of the water, waiting for the sound of the whistle that told us that our hour would begin. I prepared to shove the gillyweed into my mouth the second that the whistle sounded. I wasn't too sure what this herb was supposed to do, but I didn't really care about that too much at the moment.

"Three…two…one!" Bagman counted down.

As soon as the whistle blew, I started to swallow the gillyweed while taking off my shoes at the same time. I moved as quickly as I could before I felt any side effect of the herb at all. As soon as I walked up towards the freezing cold water, I started to feel a bit funny. It felt as though a cushion was pressing up against my nose and my mouth. Then, I started to feel lightheaded and realized that this is what the plant was supposed to do and dove right into the water.

As soon as I took in some water through my…gills - this was weird - I started to feel better once again. I looked down at my hands and feet and noticed that they had grown webs on them. That was…odd…it was then that I realized that I hadn't swum before. Well, I had, but I tried not to think about that too much.

You see, when I was eight years old, Harry and I were taken to the swimming pool with Dudley because he was getting swimming lessons and no one could watch us at the moment. We had arrived a bit early, so the instructor hadn't arrived yet, so Dudley decided that he would harass us a bit like he usually did. So, only after a few minutes of standing around, Dudley took it upon himself to shove me into the water. I had never been in the water before in my life, so I had literally no idea how to swim. I nearly drowned before Harry had jumped in to help me out. It wasn't what I like to call a fond memory…

Anyway, I tried out my webbed hands and feet for a moment and discovered that they actually helped me to swim - I could now move around without too much difficulty. So, I decided that I would start to move forward some. As I swam, I ran into a large patch of seaweed at the bottom of the lake and tried to keep out of it as best as I could because I could see a few pairs of dark eyes staring up at me. Luckily enough, I didn't run into anything or anyone. I figured now that I probably should have waited up for Harry, but I'm sure that he could manage this on his own now that he had the gillyweed.

I swam a little while longer before I began to think of what I was supposed to be looking for. Harry had told me that there were merpeople in the lake the night before while we were looking through the charms books - but I hadn't seen any so far. In fact, I started to worry that I hadn't seen anything at this point. What was I supposed to be looking for?

"An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took...your time's half gone, so tarry not lest what you seek stays here to rot…"

It was the song and I could hear it off in the distance. That gave me some sort of direction as to where I was supposed to be going. It wasn't comforting to hear the song though, it sounded just as creepy as it had when I had heard it coming from the egg in the bathtub, but it did help me move along a bit, so I couldn't be but so freaked out about it.

Suddenly, as I was pushing through the seaweed, I felt something grab a hold of my leg and jerk me backwards. I immediately grabbed for my wand and pointed it directly behind me where I saw a grindylow holding firmly onto my leg and hissing at me.

"Relashio!" I tried to say.

The words didn't come out of my mouth properly because of the water, but the spell did still have the effect that I wanted it to have. The grindylow let go of my leg and angrily retreated back into the forest of seaweed. Without hesitation, I quickly bolted away from the patch of seaweed and continued to where the sound of the song was coming from.

Suddenly, I burst out from the seaweed into a clearing in what I believed to be the middle of the lake. There was a crowd of what I assumed to be merpeople that were swimming around what looked to be an underwater town. In the center of this town, tied to a statue of a merperson, were five people that were floating: Hermione, Cho Chang, Ron, George, and what appeared to be a relative of Fleur's (she looked just like her, only younger).

I swam towards the people skeptically. I wasn't sure how these merpeople were going to react to me just swimming up to them like this, but they didn't have any response. When I got right up to the people, I realized that this was what they took - people. It didn't ever occur to me the night before that they had taken them away because _they_ were the "objects" that we were looking for. But who belonged to which champion? It only took me about two seconds to determine that George was meant for me, but what about the others? I guess that Cho was meant for Cedric, the unnamed girl was for Fleur, Hermione was for Viktor, and Ron must have been here for Harry.

I heard a disturbance in the water and turned around to see Harry approaching, he was looking slightly frightened by the merpeople, though I could hardly blame him. From far away, they didn't look _that_ creepy. But up close, they looked entirely different than I could ever have imagined them. They had an almost green looking appearance with stringy looking hair that went down their backs and each of them looked a bit angry at something. Not to mention that each one of the ones that were around the people had a spear held in their hand, probably waiting to kill us…

Harry gave me a confused expression and tried to talk, but I could only see bubbles coming out of his mouth. So, he gestured to the ropes and pulled on them. That got me thinking the same as him - how were we supposed to get them away from the ropes? I looked around at the bottom of the lake and found a few jagged rocks lying around. Harry saw me pointing at them, and, together, we both swam down and came back up to our person.

I pointed to Ron and then to him in hopes that he would understand that Ron was the hostage that he was supposed to take, then I pointed to George and to myself. He nodded his head and we quickly cut through the rope that held our hostages. I looked around at each of the other hostages and thought about what the song had told us - would the other hostages just sit and rot if no one else got to them in time? What about them? We couldn't just leave them here to die! That was insane!

By the look on Harry's face, I knew that he was thinking the same thing that I was - we couldn't leave the others. We swam towards the others, but the merpeople didn't seem to like that idea to much. As soon as the rock touched the rope, they held their spears out and angrily spoke to us.

"Take your own hostage - those are for the others," he croaked.

Then, suddenly, Cedric appeared next to us and swam quickly towards Cho to release her. Without much hesitation, he took out a knife from his pocket and cut the rope and then turned to us to try to tell us something.

"Get out of here," he mouthed. "Fleur and Krum are coming soon!"

Then he took Cho's rope and dragged her along in the water in the direction of the land. I didn't know what we were going to do when I turned to Harry.

I couldn't hear what he was saying, but it wasn't that hard to figure out because he was practically using sign language to tell me what he was trying to say. He wanted me to go on to the shore with George while he got the other two. I shook my head in protest and tried to tell him that I was going to help him.

Harry pointed to his watch and told me, without words, that we were running out of time. He knew as well as I did that when the gillyweed wore off that I wasn't going to be able to move as quickly as I would hope to being as I couldn't swim well enough to keep myself alive, let alone someone else.

I didn't want to just leave him behind, but I didn't really have much of a choice. I wasn't going to be any use to him once the plant wore off and it was probably best that I start moving as soon as I could. I had eaten the gillyweed before him, so mine was going to run out first.

With a quick nod, I grabbed a hold of George's arm and swam off as quickly as I could. Things didn't go all that well though because it was taking a lot longer to get back than it was to get there because of the added weight of another person. I moved along though, doing my best to avoid the seaweed that was filled with grindylows - I didn't have time to have to try to fight them off.

After what felt like forever, I could finally see the land starting to move in an upward slant indicating that land was near. But something else held me up. The gillyweed was starting to fade away and I could feel the cushion around my face begin to go away. I was going to need air very quickly. I moved my arm to try to go up, but when I did I realized that the plant was wearing off faster than I thought. I didn't have webs on my hands or feet anymore and I was a good distance away from the surface.

What was I going to do? I had to get there quickly, but I couldn't swim well and that was going to be nearly impossible. We were going to die - this was it!

Wait a second…I'm a witch…I can use magic…

Duh…

"Ascendio!" I tried to shout.

Suddenly, both of us flew towards the surface of the water with great speed. As soon as we did, I quickly inhaled as much air as I could as I attempted to keep myself above water level. I flailed my arms and legs around as much as I could to keep myself up, and it was working a little bit. I could keep my head above water for a small amount of time, just before I began to sink again.

Just as I went back under the water, I felt someone's arms pulling me up to the surface. As soon as I was somewhat stable, I realized that George was no longer in that weird, frozen kind of state that he had been in since I found him in the lake. Then I listened as the crowd around me cheered - we had done it!

But where was Harry?

That was the only thing that I could think of as George and I made our way back to the shore where tons of people came over to congratulate me on making it back in second place. I didn't really care about that at the moment though - it just didn't interest me.

Someone handed us some towels and I threw it around myself without breaking eye contact with the lake, even through Madam Pomfrey's demands that I go to see her. I searched all around the lake, looking for any signs that my brother had returned to the surface like I had done only a moment before. Only for a moment did I register that Fleur was already on the shore without her hostage. Did that mean that she had been pulled out early? Maybe she had come up too early or something.

Then I got to thinking - what if the merpeople attacked Harry for taking more than one person? What if the gillyweed wore off quicker than mine did and he had already drowned in the lake?

I had a brief sense of relief when I saw two people break the surface - but neither of them were Harry. It was Krum and Hermione - at least they got out without any trouble. But that only left Harry. Where was he? What was he doing? Had he run into trouble or was it already too late?

It felt like years, but finally I saw two heads emerge from the lake. It wasn't Harry though - it was the silver head girl and Ron. Where was Harry? He had to be somewhere near them, otherwise they wouldn't have made it this far. Then, suddenly, something flew out of the water and onto the shore.

It wasn't just something though - it was Harry! I ran over to him and helped him to stand up. He seemed a bit shocked, but other than that, he looked fine. Not too much damage anyway - he was going to be all right. Only a few moments later Ron and the silver haired girl came up to the shore. As soon as they made it there, Fleur ran up to the girl who I knew now to be her sister - they looked identical aside from their age.

"Harry - what were you doing down there?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Fleur didn't show up - I couldn't just leave the girl down there," Harry said.

"Don't be a prat Harry," Ron laughed. "You can't honestly believe that they were just going to leave us down there to die - they just said that so you would stay within the time limit!"

That made me feel a bit dumb, and I knew that Harry felt that way too. How were we supposed to know that we weren't supposed to take it seriously - that's what it told us! Now that they did mention it though, it did make a lot of sense that they wouldn't just leave them down there. It didn't matter much now though, everyone was safe.

"You were outside the time limit Harry - did it take you that long to find us?" Hermione asked.

"Well, not exactly," Harry said.

"We were the first ones there as far as I know," I told Hermione. "He would have made it back just as I did if he would have just taken Ron."

"Did you believe that they were going to kill us too?" George asked me.

"Well…I might've…" I muttered. "You wouldn't have taken that lightly if it was you - don't make fun of me!"

I'm not - I'm not!" George said as he held back some laughter. "I just didn't realize that you were that easy to fool!"

"Shut it," I laughed and hit him in the arm.

Dumbledore and the other judges were standing around and had apparently heard what I had said about us being the first ones there. Not a moment later, the merpeople arose from the water's surface and Dumbledore walked over there to talk to them in some kind of weird language that I wasn't familiar with.

"Herm-own-ninny - you have a beetle in your hair," Viktor said behind her.

Hermione knocked the beetle out of her hair quickly, but didn't seem all that concerned with it - she had other things on her mind apparently. However, when I looked down at the beetle, I noticed that it looked a bit odd. It was rather large for a beetle to start off with, but it also appeared to have some sort of glasses around its eyes. That's weird…I suppose that I was just imagining things…the water was getting to my head…

I had hardly even noticed the large crowd that stood around us until now. Several of my close friends were huddled around us, including all of the champions that were waiting for what the judges were going to say. Then, without much warning, Fleur made her way to Harry and was practically in tears.

"You saved 'er!" she exclaimed. "Even though she was not your 'ostage."

She kissed both Harry and Ron for helping her - even though Ron didn't do anything. I don't think that they seemed to mind it all that much anyway. After that, the judges had finished deciding what they were going to do.

"Attention everyone!" Dumbledore called. "We have come up with our decision! The winner of the second task is Cedric Diggory! However, because of his bravery, we would like to award a tie for first to Mr. Harry Potter!"

There was an enormous amount of cheering - and some groaning from the Durmstrang - for this victory for Hogwarts.

"In third place is Miss Emily Potter, then Viktor Krum, and finally Fleur Delacour!"

"Third place - that's fantastic!" George cheered.

I didn't hear much more after that at the lake because of all the noise. I did know one thing though - I was really ready for some sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I know that the ending was a bit rushed, but I was in a hurry because I'm supposed to be helping plan my nephew's birthday party. I hope that it wasn't too bad - tell me what you think of the second task! (By the way, I really am sorry that this wasn't included in the last chapter - I just wanted to make it a bit longer. I apologize if I disappointed anyone)<strong>

**Tell me what you think!**


	31. The Lies of Rita Skeeter

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 31**

Before we went back up to the castle after the second task, we were all told that the final task would be held on the twenty-fourth of June and that we would all be informed of what this task was. I was thankful enough for that because I was really tired of having to figure out what we were going to do at the last moment - it was getting a bit aggravating.

As the days passed by, more and more people wanted to know exactly what had happened underwater during the task since no one had actually seen it. I had only told George, Neville, and a couple of other people, but Ron attended to the rest. I didn't have a doubt in my mind that Ron had come up with each story that he told because of how bizarre and unrealistic they were - not to mention that the story changed each time that it was told.

It was weird though because I didn't actually know how they managed to bring all of the hostages down to the lake, so I decided to ask George while Ron told another story, even worse than the others, that day in the common room.

"It wasn't anything like he's saying," George said while putting his arm around me. "All they did was bewitch us so that we would stay asleep while we were underwater and they told us that as soon as we hit the air we would wake up."

"So there wasn't any crazy kidnapping involved," I smiled.

"No, they're saving that for the third task," he smiled.

"Right," I laughed.

We listened in to Ron's ridiculous story about his kidnap that involved the merpeople forcing him underwater, but then George asked me something that he had apparently been thinking about since the task ended the other day.

"Why didn't you ever tell me that you couldn't swim?" he asked.

"It wasn't relevant," I said.

"Didn't you think about that when you found out that the task was going to be underwater?"

"Well, sure," I said. "But I was more concerned about having to breathe underwater for an entire hour."

"And the fact that you couldn't swim wasn't an issue?" he laughed.

"Well, it was, but it was less important I guess," I said. "You were there to help me anyways - I knew that you wouldn't let me drown."

He smiled and then leaned in to kiss me. I lost myself for a minute or so before I was yelled at by someone sitting nearby.

"Oi - get a room, would you?" Ron said. "I'm trying to tell a story and you're snogging is bothering me."

"Just because you don't have anyone to snog," George muttered.

"What was that?" Ron asked.

"Nothing," I laughed and gave George a warning look.

The rest of the week went by really well - there wasn't all that much that was eventful. That was when one morning we woke up to find Witch Weekly. I had completely forgotten about the run in with Rita Skeeter a little while back and I was completely unprepared when I saw an article all about us in the middle of the paper. The first one was on Harry and Hermione **(most of this was in the book, so you can skip it if you like, I only added a few details)**

_Harry Potter's Secret Heartache A boy like no other, perhaps - yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, with only his lowly sister to find comfort in, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss._

_Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections. Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has "never felt this way about any other girl."_

_However, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms that have captured these unfortunate boys' interest._

_"She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, "but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it."_

_Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potters well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on a worthier candidate._

The next one, right underneath the one that I had just read, involved myself and a few others. This article was very similar to the one that I had read about myself before though, so it wasn't too much of a shock - even though it did make me really angry.

_Harry isn't the only one that's found love at Hogwarts - his own twin sister, Emily Potter, is seen as one of the most desirable girls of the school, according to a few unnamed sources. This fact doesn't go unnoticed by the bright-eyed young girl of fourteen, in fact, she uses this to her advantage._

"_She goes through guys more than she does socks," a source from the Slytherin house says. "Every time I see her, she's always with someone different and it's getting on everyone's nerves."_

_Recently, she's been spotted around Vector Krum, the twin brother of the Bulgarian Seeker, however, according to sources, she seems to use him as if he is some kind of toy. During the traditional Yule Ball, she entered the Great Hall of Hogwarts in Vector's arms - but left in the arms of George Weasley._

"_It was difficult on Vector," sources say. "He was absolutely devastated when he saw that his date had been stolen, but it didn't matter to her - she didn't care about him anyway, she was just using him like she does every other guy in the school."_

_Not only is young Emily seen around the school with Krum and Weasley, but she is also found with a Mr. Neville Longbottom as well. The handsome young boy has been friends with Miss Potter since their first year at school - but are they only friends? The night before the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, the pair were caught running around the castle long past hours. What were the two doing at the time - sneaking away for a bit of "alone time?" Emily better watch out before she starts too much trouble between these love-struck boys!_

"Seriously - what the hell?" I slammed the newspaper down.

"What did you expect?" Ron asked. "You were yelling at her and you knew that she was going to make something up about you."

I narrowed my eyes and looked across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table to Pansy Parkinson - I _knew_ that she was the "unnamed source" in the article, she's the only one that would come up with that kind of stuff about me. She was just angry that Draco had a thing for me last year…not to mention that we've had our fair share of fights in our years around each other.

"Ah - there you are," George said with a smile as he walked up to me.

"Oh no - have you read the article?" I asked him.

"Oh yes, it was quite amusing actually," George said. "But really - you should watch out before you start too much trouble between your various lovers."

"You're hilarious," I muttered. "Honestly, you should be a comedian."

"Oh, I know," he said looking pleased.

It wasn't a moment later when Neville came over and sat down. He nearly looked like he was going to laugh, so I didn't even bother to ask if he had read the article. He always found it so amusing when they said that we had a thing going on. It was just _so_ entertaining.

Finally, breakfast ended and we had to go to Potions class. Just before I walked out of the Great Hall, George leaned in and gave me a kiss good-bye. Neville, who was standing nearby, dramatically put his hand up to his heart.

"How could you - I thought we had something special," he said dramatically. "You know what your love with him does to me."

"Oh shut it!" I said while smacking him in the arm.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and George all found it pretty amusing though and after a minute, I joined in with their laughter after rolling my eyes. Then we all went to Potions class together (aside from George who had another class). When we got there, everyone immediately stopped talking and looked over at us. Could they have made it any more obvious that they had been talking about us?

We all just sat down in our usual seats, but I could feel the glares coming around and I realized that they were still thinking about the article and I happened to be sitting next to Neville. I cannot believe that they believed a word that Rita Skeeter said. I know that they were Slytherins, but they aren't _stupid._

Finally, after the painfully awkward silence, Snape came into the room and threw the instructions for the class period up on the board. We were going to be making a Wit-Sharpening Potion, something that I had read about already in one of the books that Hermione had given me a while back. Luckily enough, everyone started on their potions and we were practically ignored once again.

"I told you all that you shouldn't have messed with her," Ron told us once we started making the potion. "Now she's gone and made the two of you out to be…scarlet women!"

"Scarlet women?" I laughed.

"That's what mum calls them," Ron muttered.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Hermione said. "If that's the best that she can do then I have to say that I'm unimpressed. She could have done a lot worse. What I want to know is how she knew…"

"Are you saying that you've been sneaking Love Potions to my brother?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's low Hermione - you could have just told him."

"Of course that isn't what I meant," she laughed. "I meant about Viktor asking me to visit him during the summer…"

The rest of us just raised our eyebrows, none of us had heard about this before. We had all just assumed that Rita Skeeter had just thrown that in there to make it sound better than it really was. It wasn't that shocking to me though - the two had really grown to like each other.

"He told me that he'd never met anyone like me too…" Hermione said while going red in the face. "How did she hear about that - she wasn't even there. Or was she…?"

She started to say something else, but was cut off when Snape came walking up to us all. His eyes were narrowed and he looked annoyed - then again, he looked that way a lot. I could almost bet that I was one of the very few people that had seen him when he wasn't annoyed with something.

"As fascinating as your love life may be Miss Granger," he said in a slow, drawn out voice. "I suggest that you return to your work - ten points from Gryffindor for this."

That's when he caught sight of the magazine that was sitting on our desk opened up to the page with our articles in there. We all watched in horror as he picked it up and began to read it out loud. This was going to be awful.

"Harry Potter's Secret Heartache…" he read aloud. "My, my…what seems to be the problem here…"

Our group sat and watched him, completely speechless, as the Slytherins all roared with laughter. They already knew where this was going and it was going to get ugly. I hope that Harry could keep himself under control…he can't afford to get into too much trouble.

"'Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate.' How very touching," Snape sneered. "Now, now…it seems that we need to have a few seats rearranged around here so that your tangled love lives don't get in the way of your work."

I was thankful that he hadn't read my article aloud yet, but I could only hope that he wouldn't actually see it. It was only just below, so I couldn't imagine that he hadn't seen it by now. As he moved around Harry, Ron, and Hermione, I noticed him looking through the article more.

"It seems that they aren't the only pair of lovers around here…" Snape said slowly. "Longbottom - Miss Potter - out in the hallway."

I was shocked that he was sending us out of the room. Why not just humiliate us in front of the entire class like he had done with my brother? Neville and I stood up, slowly and skeptically at first, and stepped outside of the classroom.

"What's going on?" Neville whispered to me.

"No idea…" I said.

We stood out there for a minute longer before Snape stepped out and closed the door behind me. He wouldn't look at me, but was glaring at Neville as though he was the devil himself. I hadn't seen him look this angry at someone in a while.

"What is this about?" he snarled at Neville.

"W-what?" Neville stuttered.

"You two were caught 'running around the castle after hours,'" Snape snarled. "What were you doing?"

"I-" Neville started.

Neville gulped as Snape stepped closer to him and glared down at him as though he was only seconds from murdering him on the spot. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I didn't think that my intervention in this would help the situation at all until I actually knew what was going on.

"Don't you _ever_ lay a hand on this girl again, understand?" he snarled.

"Whoa - whoa!" I said. "What are you talking about?"

He stepped back quickly looking as though he had forgotten that I was only standing a foot away from him, but at this point, I was probably right.

"You don't think that we…you know…did…_that_…" I said awkwardly.

"That's _exactly_ what it sounds like right here," Snape snarled. "What else could you two have been doing?"

"That was when we were figuring out the clue to the second task - we were going to you to get the gillyweed," I said quickly. "We were looking in the _library_!"

"Likely story," he snarled while glaring at Neville.

"You've got to be _joking_," I said. "This was a _Rita Skeeter_ article - do you honestly believe what she says! She's the biggest liar in the wizarding world!"

"_She_ wrote this…" he said while looking down at the magazine again. "Well…I guess that you're right…"

"Of course I'm right!" I said. "Who do you take me for? I'm not some…scarlet woman!"

I couldn't believe that I was using Ron's word, but I don't think any other one would be appropriate at the moment. Then again, the entire situation was completely ridiculous. What was Snape thinking? How could he believe that I would just sleep around with every guy in the school?

"I apologize…" he coughed. "For the…misunderstanding…"

Neville looked horrified and his eyes were still huge. For a moment, I really think that he believed that his life was about to end. I even thought that Snape was going to kill him!

"Go back to class - don't speak of this again, understand?" Snape said warningly.

"Yes sir," Neville croaked.

Then, like a bolt of lightening, Neville ran back into the classroom. To think that Neville had been afraid of him before!

"I cannot believe that you thought that…" I muttered as I made my way back to my seat.

"Stop speaking…" Snape muttered as he made his way back to his desk.

When I sat back down, I went back to making my potion. I could hear Snape talking to Harry and I could tell that it wasn't exactly a pleasant conversation. Well, at least Harry wasn't doing anything to provoke it. I just wish that Snape wouldn't be so rude to Harry all the time - he never did anything to him.

I tried to put all of my attention on the potion that I was making so I wouldn't yell at Snape in front of everyone. I would have to make a mental note to harass him for this later - he had no right to just go off on my brother for no good reason. Then again, I would imagine that Harry being alive and in his presence was bad enough for Snape. Sometimes I wish he would just grow up a bit…

I tried to help Neville with his potion, but every time I went to say something, he had this crazed expression on and kept looking over to Snape. I guess that he really freaked him out this time. It wasn't until there was a knock on the door that I actually looked up from my potion.

"Come in…" Snape droned.

The door flew open and Karkaroff barged into the room right up to Snape's desk. He looked worried and scared about something. I wonder what it was…

"Severus - we need to talk," Karkaroff said.

The entire class was looking up and when Snape met our eyes, everyone went back to work. There was a little bit of talking going on amongst the class, so I had to try to listen closely as Snape and Karkaroff went off to the side of the classroom and began to talk in low voices.

"This can wait until after class Karkaroff," Snape said.

"You've been avoiding me," Karkaroff said. "We need to talk now-"

"After class," Snape said threateningly.

"Fine…" Karkaroff muttered.

He didn't leave though, in fact, he stuck around until the end of the class period. Once the bell rang, I wanted to stick around, but I knew that it wouldn't be any good. Harry, who was sitting in the front of the class, just so happened to knock something over and had to stay back while the rest of us left. He told us to go on, so Ron, Hermione, and I stayed in the Entrance Hall to wait for him.

"What do you think that he wanted?" Ron asked.

"I'm not sure," Hermione said. "But he looked terrified."

"Oh yeah - what did Snape say to you and Neville outside in the hallway?" Ron asked. "Neville looked a wreck."

"He read that Rita Skeeter article and thought that Neville had gotten his way with me," I rolled my eyes. "He looked like he was going to kill Neville."

"That's weird," Hermione said.

"Not really," Ron said. "I think that Snape forgets that he isn't your father sometimes Emily."

"You're crazy," I said. "He's just being protective, that's all."

"Right, as long as you believe that," Ron rolled his eyes.

After a few more minutes, Harry came up the stairs in a hurry. I knew by the look on his face that he had just found out something - something that we would all need to hear about.

"What happened?" I asked.

"It's Karkaroff and Snape," Harry panted. "Karkaroff was showing him something that was on his arm - he was talking about something that was coming clearer. I don't know what he meant though."

"That's odd," I said. "Did they not realize that you were in there?"

"I don't think so," Harry said. "Snape got a little touchy when he found out that I was still there."

It was all really weird and I didn't understand what was going on. Was Snape involved in something that he shouldn't be? Or was Karkaroff just mad? It's really hard to say…

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you all liked it! I know that it was a little random with Snape's reaction to the article, but I hoped that you enjoyed it, I just thought of it randomly and decided to throw that little bit in there.<strong>

**So, I set up a Tumblr a while back for these stories, but I haven't been keeping up with it, but I'm going to do that from now on. So, if you have a Tumblr, you can follow me and I'll keep you updated on the stories. Oh! I was thinking - if any of you all are any good at art, I think that it would be really neat if you could draw something from my stories and I could post it for everyone to see. It's an idea, take it or leave it - I'm just interested to see what people can come up with! If you do decide to draw something, you could send it to me on Fanfiction or on my Tumblr page (the link is on my profile on here)**

**Tell me what you think!**


	32. Don't Tell Anyone Our Secret

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 32**

Finally, the trip to Hogsmeade finally came around. We had all been looking forward to this trip for a while, but Harry and I were looking forward to it mostly because Sirius was going to be meeting with us there and we hadn't seen him in so long. It was unfortunate for George though because he had wanted to spend the day with me, but I said that I had to meet with an old friend of mine there. It was almost depressing to see his disappointment, especially considering that he didn't even know anything about Sirius. I wasn't sure if I should tell him yet because I was almost afraid of how he would respond.

We had to go around the town for a little while because we actually had to wait until two to meet him, so when we got to the town too early, I decided to spend some of my time with George until we actually did have to go.

"I thought that you were meeting with someone?" George said.

"Well, that's not for a little while," I said while grabbing onto his hand.

"Who is this person anyway?" George asked skeptically. "Anyone I should know about?"

"You've been reading too much Rita Skeeter," I said while rolling my eyes. "No, it's just…someone important…we haven't seen him in a while…"

"Right…" George sighed.

I guess that it was a little weird on his part. I was just going to meet some random person that he didn't know and I wouldn't even explain it to him. It was really complicated though - I didn't want him to freak out, that's all. But it would kind of make me uneasy if it was the other way around, so I knew that I would have to tell him sooner or later.

"Fine, I'll tell you," I said as we went into the Leaky Cauldron. "But you can't tell anyone else and you have to promise not to freak out."

"Um…okay," he laughed nervously. "Who is it? Wait - it isn't Vector, is it?"

"What - no, it isn't Vector!" I said surprised.

"Just making sure," he said.

Now that he mentioned Vector, I have to admit that I hadn't seen him around much since the Yule Ball. In fact, we hadn't spoken at all since then. I guess that he had no interest in just staying friends with me, so he just moved on. I had seen him walking around every now and then and occasionally waved hello, but that's as far as it went for him.

I looked around the pub for a moment to see if anyone was listening at all, but no one was there. We leaned our heads in together and I said in just barely a whisper the name of my godfather.

"What?" George said loudly, gaining the attention of a few other people.

"You told me that you wouldn't freak out," I smacked him. "Shut it!"

"Well, that wasn't my first guest of your company Emily," George whispered frantically. "How would I have even begun to guess that you were hanging around S-"

I threw my hand over his mouth and looked around again to see if anyone was listening. No one was even looking our direction though, so I knew that we were safe. Still, it was too risky to say his name aloud in a pub - he was still considered a murderer in most people's eyes.

"It's a really long story," I explained. "But you have to trust me - he's a really good guy."

"And how do I know that?" George asked.

"Well, we've been around each other since the beginning of last year and he hasn't tried anything," I said. "Not to mention that he is my godfather, so obviously I wasn't the only one that trusted him."

"Well, not to be rude Emily, but that didn't exactly benefit them," he whispered.

"It wasn't him - you just have to trust me," I explained. "Honestly, he had _nothing_ to do with it at all."

"Wait a minute - the man is your _godfather_?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "Now can you please calm down?"

"Fine," he sighed angrily. "But you should know that I do not like this at all - it's dangerous for you."

"No it isn't," I said. "If you knew the whole story then you would understand."

"Well, I don't," he said.

"Obviously," I muttered.

I looked around at the clock and saw that it was nearly one thirty, so I was going to have to be on my way shortly. It felt wrong to just leave George here while he was angry though, it just wasn't right.

"How mad are you?" I asked him after a minute.

"I'm not sure," he said. "Will you explain the whole story to me or is that just going to remain a mystery to me?"

"I will later - not here though," I said.

"Okay…" he sighed.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" I asked. "Not even Fred?"

"Not if you don't want me to," he said honestly, then looked up at the clock. "I guess that you need to get going then."

"I guess so," I said. "See you later George."

We leaned in and kissed, but I could tell that he was a little bit tense. He didn't like knowing that I was associated with Sirius, he was making that very clear. I guess that I couldn't blame him too much though because, as far as he knew, he was involved in the murders of several people and was also involved with Death Eaters and Voldemort. I had to tell him though, he would have made up assumptions on who I was meeting with and probably would have gotten angrier about something that wasn't even happening. I was going to have to explain to him the whole story soon so that he would understand - that would make things a lot easier.

Finally, after a few minutes, I caught up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the spot that Sirius promised to meet us. They had with them several bags that I knew was filled with the food that we had promised our godfather in our last letter to him - we knew that he had to be starving by now. Not long afterwards, Sirius, in dog form, showed up in front of us. He was carrying around newspapers in his mouth and trying his best to look like any normal dog, but we knew better.

We followed him up the mountains for a good while and finally we made it into a hidden cave nearby that I had assumed to be Sirius's temporary home while he stayed around Hogwarts. In the cave sat the familiar looking creature that I remembered as Buckbeak the hippogriff. I had nearly forgotten about that hippogriff…

When I looked back over at the dog that had been leading us, it was no longer a dog, but instead my very own godfather. He didn't look very good either. He was still wearing the clothes that he had received in Azkaban and he looked extremely thin and unhealthy in appearance. When he saw the bags filled with food, his face lightened up.

"You brought chicken!" he smiled.

We handed over the food, which he ate happily and hungrily. He hadn't been eating properly at all, not that I even began to think that he ever did. When I first met him last year, the only time that he ever ate properly was when I brought him food myself. I'm not really sure what he had been living off before that, but I'd almost prefer to not know.

"What are you doing here Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Fulfilling my duties as a godfather," he smiled up at us. "I've been keeping up with all of the news at Hogwarts lately - "

"How have you managed that?" I asked him.

"Old newspapers," he said while gesturing to the papers that he had just been carrying. "I've been pretending to be just a regular stray dog while fetching them - don't worry, no one suspects a thing."

He tossed the paper over to Harry, who began to scan through it immediately.

"They're making it sound like Crouch is dying…" Harry muttered.

"Maybe he is…" I said. "He's been out of sight for a while now, hasn't he?"

"Serves him right after the way that he treated Winky," Hermione muttered. "I bet that he wishes he hadn't sacked her now that he's sick…"

"Winky?" Sirius asked.

"It was Crouch's house-elf," I told him. "She was sacked at the Quidditch World Cup…"

I went on to tell him everything that happened at the World Cup. We were pretty sure that he'd gotten the brief overview of the events, but we thought that it was best that we fill him in with all of the details now.

"So the elf was saving a seat for him, but he never showed up?" Sirus asked.

"That's right," Hermione said. "The poor elf was terrified too…"

"Harry, did you check to see if you still had your wand once you'd left the Top Box?" Sirius asked.

"No, I don't think that I did," Harry said. "Didn't think about it really."

It took me a second, but I finally understood what Sirius was trying to say. It did make a whole lot of sense, I can't believe that I hadn't thought of it before now.

"Are you saying that whoever conjured that mark stole Harry's wand while we were in the Top Box?" I asked.

"That's what I was thinking Emily," Sirius nodded. "It's very possible."

"It wasn't Winky!" Hermione insisted.

"That's not what I said Hermione - who else was in the box?" Sirius asked.

"There were loads of people," I said. "There were some Bulgarian Minsiters, Cornelius Fudge was there-"

"The Malfoys!" Ron said suddenly. "I bet you that it was Lucius Malfoy that did it!"

"I seriously doubt that Ron," I said. "I think that we would have noticed if he had taken the wand from Harry."

"Who else?" Sirius asked.

"Um…there was Ludo Bagman," I said.

"Don't know much about him - what's he like?" he asked.

"He's odd," Harry said. "He's always trying to help the two of us out with the Tournament - he's one of the judges."

"That is strange…" Sirius said.

"We saw him in the forest just before the Dark Mark showed up, remember?" Hermione asked.

"Are you saying that you think that Bagman did it?" Ron scoffed.

"It's more likely him than Winky," Hermione muttered.

"She's set on the elves, she is-" Ron said.

"Stop Ron," I cut him off.

Ron looked a bit angry that I had shut him up, but no one else was paying any attention to him anyhow. Sirius started pacing around with a chicken leg held in his hand.

"After you all found the elf with the wand in hand, what did Crouch do?" he asked.

"He went looking in the bushes," Harry said.

"That makes sense," Sirius said, still pacing. "He'd want to blame it on anyone but his elf…is that when he sacked her?"

"Yes," Hermione said angrily.

No one spoke for a minute while Sirius rubbed his bearded chin and walked back and forth through the dimly lit cave. He was thinking hard about something, but I couldn't tell exactly what.

"All these disappearances of his…it's very odd, very unlike him to do something like that…" he said slowly.

"Do you know him then?" I asked.

"Yes, I do know him," he said darkly. "He's the one that sent me to Azkaban without trial."

"That was _him_?" I asked, completely astonished.

"That's right," Sirius said. "Bet you all didn't know that he was Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement either, am I right?"

"No, I never heard about that," Ron said.

"He was nearly the next Minister of Magic too," Sirius said. "He was a great wizard, he was. But he was power hungry - not like Voldemort though, he despised him. He was against anyone that was associated with the Dark Side, that man was. That was a terrible time then, you wouldn't understand…far too young to know…"

"We've been told that a lot lately," I said. "How about you try us?"

"Fine then, I'll tell you," Sirius smiled. "During this time, Voldemort was very powerful and no one knew who his supporters were. There were even people that were being controlled by him and didn't even have the faintest clue what was going on - they couldn't stop themselves if they had wanted to. Everyone was scared for their families because people were disappearing left and right - it could have been you at any given moment. The Ministry didn't know what they were doing in all this madness and they were trying to settle everyone down, not that any of it was working.

It got even worse when the Muggles started going missing because they were trying to keep them from noticing anything out of the ordinary. People were terrified, everyone was confused, that's how it was back then. When Crouch rose to the Ministry, he started attacking Voldemort's supporters first - he threw everyone of them that he could right into Azkaban. He was sending Aurors after them to kill them all - not just to capture. He even permitted the use of the Unforgivable Curses against them. He caught a lot of people, that man did. Even his own son…"

"Crouch's son was on their side?" I asked.

"Yes he was," Sirius sighed. "It was a horrible shock for Barty. He sent him right into Azkaban."

"His own son?" Hermione gasped.

"He sent anyone didn't he?" I asked. "Anyone that messed with his reputation - just like Winky."

"That's right Emily," Sirius nodded. "He didn't tolerate anything then and apparently he's the same as he was then. The only thing that benefited his son was that he was at least given a trial - but he was sent anyway. He was in the cell near me when he was sent. He was screaming all through the night for his mother…it was hardly ever silent…"

"So he's still there?" Harry asked.

"No, he died about a year after he went there," Sirius said.

"He died?" Hermione gasped.

"Him along with several others," Sirius said. "It's not all that shocking - most go mad in there anyway. They just lose the will to even keep themselves alive. It was terrible on his family though, not long after he died, his mother passed as well. Crouch lost a lot of popularity after that, so Fudge stepped up to take the job as Minister while Crouch stepped down."

Everyone stayed silent for a while after he stopped talking. It was a lot to take in during such little time. I'd never heard anything about this until just now - it was all rather surprising, but at the same time, it wasn't that unimaginable.

"Moody said that he's obsessed with catching Dark wizards…" Ron said.

"I wouldn't disagree," Sirius said.

"Maybe that's why he sneaked up to search Snape's office-!" Ron started.

"Oh come off it Ron!" I said. "Leave him out of this!"

"You come off it!" Ron retorted. "All you do is protect the greasy git!"

"Dumbledore trusts him Ron," Hermione cut in.

"If Snape wanted us dead, then he would have done it already," I said. "He's had plenty of opportunity in the past years."

"What do you think Sirius?" Harry asked.

"They both have a pretty solid point," he said thoughtfully. "Snape could have killed you both any time that he wanted. I've seen him walking around with Emily a lot - slightly ironic, that is-"

"Don't Sirius," I warned.

I knew where he was going with this. Aside from Sirius, I was the only one that knew that Snape and my mother had gotten along very well at school. He might have even liked her more than a friend, but he had made a mistake that had set her away. That's when she met up with my father. I knew that if Harry had known anything about Snape's love for our mother that he would use it against him and I didn't want that.

"Snape knows a lot of dark spells," Sirius went on. "He went around with a lot of people that became Death Eaters at school, so he very well could have been involved - it's hard to say."

"He knows Karkaroff pretty well," Ron commented. "But he doesn't seem to want people to notice that."

"He came into Potions class the other day," Harry said. "He was trying to show Snape something on his arm, but I couldn't see what it was."

"On his arm?" Sirius asked. "That's odd…he's obviously worried about something, but why would he go to Snape?"

"I think that-" Ron started.

"No one cares what you think Ron," I snapped.

Sirius started to smile and looked away for a moment.

"Like two of a kind…" he said under his breath.

He was referring to my mother of course. Probably had something to do with the fact that I was defending Snape. Someone had to defend him, look at all the people that were trying to attack him?

"What's the time?" Sirius asked.

"Half past three," Harry said while looking at his watch.

"You all need to head back to the school," Sirius said.

I didn't want to leave Sirius, but we couldn't stay much longer or someone would get suspicious. I walked over to Sirius and gave him a big hug. He hugged me tightly as if to tell me that he had missed me. I knew that I had missed seeing him all the time. It used to be such a comfort…

"Don't try to sneak out of the school, okay?" he told me and the others. "It's too dangerous."

"But-" I started.

"No," Sirius cut me off. "It's too dangerous - you could get attacked at any moment."

"Fine," I sighed.

"We haven't been attacked yet," Harry muttered.

"Well, it's not over yet, is it?" Sirius asked.

Just before he went to bring us back to the village, he told us to start referring to him as "Snuffles" when we were at school. It was just to make sure that no one knew who we were talking about. I didn't tell him that George knew about him yet, but I figured that could wait.

I didn't realize until tonight just how much I had missed Snuffles…

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I know that not all that much happened, but I'm trying to stick to the storyline as much as I can. Tell me what you think!<strong>

**Don't forget to check out my Tumblr page for more updates: www(.)gryffindorgirl347(.)tumblr(.)com**


	33. I Can Deal With You

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 33**

The following day, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I all set out to the Owlery to send a letter to Percy regarding Barty Crouch. Sirius had told us to try this out in attempt of finding out some kind of information on him since we weren't getting an other kind of reliable source on his health or whereabouts.

The night before, I discussed the story with George about meeting up with Sirius and how innocent he really was. He wasn't too pleased about it to begin with, but I think that he's not completely against the idea anymore. He still seems a bit skeptical. I haven't told Harry that George knows yet, but I was planning on telling him very soon. It was probably best that this information not be kept from him.

Once we finished with sending the letter, we decided to go down to the kitchens do Harry could give Dobby the gift that he had bought for him while we were in Hogsmeade. Harry wanted to give him a gift in thanks for the gillyweed that Dobby had been so reluctant to give Harry for the second task. It didn't take too long before we were all standing in the kitchen surrounded by all of the house-elves.

"This is just awful..." Hermione muttered.

"Hermione, you have to understand this by now," Ron said. "They honestly do like this kind of treatment."

It didn't take much to convince me of this obvious fact when I took one look at the sobbing Winky. As Harry handed over his gift, I was happy to know that he hadn't gotten anything for Winky. I think that a gift, at this point, would have destroyed her completely. She didn't like her freedom, so I couldn't imagine that she had any joy in receiving any kind of clothing or gifts for that matter. It was sick to watch her in this state with bottles surrounding her small figure.

"Winky's getting through about six bottles of that now," Dobby sighed.

"At least it isn't that strong," I said.

"Oh, it is for an elf Emily Potter," Dobby squeaked.

All of us turned toward Winky now, even Ron who seemed to be focused completely on the food. She was sobbing a great amount and it was pathetic to see her like this. Then again, I can't really claim to have ever seen her on a good day. When we first met her, she looked terrified and nervous in the Top Box.

"Dumbledore is not my master," Winky sobbed. "Nothing Dobby says can persuade me any differently. Mr. Crouch needs Winky..."

When she broke out into another sob, something in my mind clicked. Could she have any information on what was going on with Mr. Crouch. She had told us before that he basically told her everything that was important to him. Maybe she picked up on something just before she got sacked.

I wasn't the only one that thought of this - apparently Harry was thinking the same thing.

"Winky, you don't happen to know where Mr. Crouch is, do you?" Harry asked. "He hasn't been showing up to the Tournament to be a judge lately."

"Master hasn't been coming to Hogwarts?" she asked quickly.

"No," I said. "It says that he is sick in the Prophet..."

This wasn't the right thing to say at the moment. It made her even worse off than before with the knowledge that she couldn't help her former master now that he was in a fragile state.

"Master - sick?" she cried.

"We don't know that for sure," Hermione explained quickly.

"Master needs his Winky!" she cried. "What will he do without her - he needs her help!"

"I'm sure that he's fine Winky," Hermione said. "Plenty of people have gotten by without the use of servants."

This didn't seem to please Winky though. She actually seemed to be a bit offended by this statement, even if she was still crying her overly large eyes out. It was amazing how Hermione was trying so hard to defend them, but everything she said seemed to offend them. Maybe it was just as Ron had said, they were used to this kind of treatment. They didn't want any different because they wouldn't know how to live without serving people.

"Winky wasn't Mr. Crouch's only servant," she said through angry sobs. "M-Mr. Crouch needs Winky because he trusts h-her! Winky keeps h-her master's secrets safe..."

"What secrets?" Harry asked suddenly.

"That's not for me to tell you," Winky said angrily. "Winky is a trusted elf - you is nosing, that's what you is doing!"

"Don't talk to Harry Potter like that Winky!" Dobby said.

The other elves quickly came over to where Winky was and too her and removed her from the area. They brought her over to another corner of the kitchen where they covered her underneath a tablecloth so she couldn't be seen.

"We is sorry that you had to see that sirs and misses," one of the elves said.

"She's just upset, we understand," I said.

"What I don't understand is why you are covering her up!" Hermione said. "Shouldn't you be trying to cheer her up instead of just hiding her?"

"Excuse me miss, but house-elves do not have time to be upset when there is work to be done," one of them answered.

"That is absurd!" Hermione insisted.

"Hermione - that's enough," I said. "I might be wrong, but I think that you're insulting them."

"They need to know this Emily," Hermione said. "They need to know their rights - they deserve the same rights that we have!"

A group of elves came over and handed over some food that they were carrying with them. Apparently, while I wasn't paying attention, Ron had asked for some extra food that we could send over to Sirius so he could have some when we couldn't make it up there. I couldn't imagine that he was getting very good food up where he was.

"Here is your food, goodbye," the elf said.

We didn't hesitate to leave. Not even Hermione misread the obvious hint to leave the kitchen. I had been right - she was insulting them by telling them about their rights. They didn't want anything to do with rights at all - they just wanted to continue the life that they had been leading as servants of wizards.

On our way back up to the common room, I decided that it would be a good time to tell Harry that George knew about our godfather and his story. I wasn't too sure on how he would respond, but I cut straight to the point so he could hurry up and get any anger that he had out quickly.

"I told George about Snuffles," I said suddenly.

"What?" Harry asked, completely baffled.

"Well, he was going to find out about him eventually," Ron said. "What did he say?"

"Wait - why did you tell him?" Harry asked.

"He knew that I was meeting up with someone the other day and he wanted to know who it was," I said. "It's not exactly easy to just keep that kind of information from him."

"What did he say?" Harry asked skeptically.

"He wasn't exactly thrilled, but I explained everything that I could so he got the idea," I said.

"I don't know if you should have told him - what if that information gets out?" Harry asked.

"George isn't going to tell anyone," I said. "That's what he told me right after I told him everything - he won't even tell Fred."

"Wow," Ron said. "He tells Fred everything too."

"He better not tell him this..." I muttered.

I was surprised on how calm Harry had remained when I told him. I had almost expected him to be a bit angry with me at the least for just spilling our secrets to George, but I guess that what Ron had said was true. George was dating me now, so he would have to figure that out sooner or later.

When we got back into the common room, it was packed with all of the Gryffindors. They weren't doing much of anything, but they were mostly playing games and acting like idiots like they usually did when the weekend was approaching. Our little group separated a bit to go around and talk with some people.

"Hey Emily," Neville smiled from across the room.

"Hey Neville," I said while walking over to that area.

Around him sat Seamus and Dean who were going on about the Triwizard Tournament and what they thought was going to happen in the third task. It was all a bunch of random stuff that I seriously doubt that would actually be involved in the Tournament, but I wasn't going to spoil their fun by shoving reality in their faces.

"Ah, the lady of the year," Seamus said. "Think she could be the winner Dean?"

"It's hard to say - they all could be for all I know," Dean said. "I reckon that she has a good chance though, you are pretty brilliant."

"No, I really don't think that I'll be the one," I said. "I'm not really all that interested in winning though."

"You never told us what happened with you in the second task," Dean said. "We've just about heard everyone else's point of view."

"I hope that you aren't listening to Ron," I laughed.

"What - you mean that he wasn't attacked by the merpeople?" Neville asked.

"No, McGonagall put them under an enchantment just before the task," I laughed. "Hate to tell you, but there wasn't any kidnapping involved."

"I thought that seemed a bit far fetched," Neville said thoughtfully.

"There isn't really much to tell from my end," I said. "I didn't really run into much trouble other than this one grindylow that I ran into. That and the trouble at the end when I remembered that I had no idea how to swim."

"You're kidding," Neville said. "You don't know how to swim?"

"No, how would I have ever learned?" I asked. "The Dursleys wouldn't even dream of giving me lessons."

"That's true," Neville said.

We didn't talk much more about the Tournament because it wasn't exactly on my list of favorite topics. Not long afterwards, I got tired from all of the stuff that happened and decided to retire for the night.

The following morning, I walked down to the Great Hall early so that I could eat my breakfast in peace before the rest of the school decided to join in. It wasn't long before some of my fellow classmates came down into the Great Hall. Surprisingly enough, Draco Malfoy was one of the first ones down there with me.

"Hello Emily," he said in an oddly cheery tone.

"What's with you?" I asked as I spread the butter on my toast. "And what are you doing at the Gryffindor table?"

"Oh, I'm not really sure..." he said. "No one is awake in my house yet, so I just decided to stop by over here."

"That's oddly kind of you," I muttered.

"Oh come on, we said that we would try to be friends," he said.

I looked at him for a moment in complete confusion. Friends? Yes, we had mentioned that before, but it didn't really seem possible with him insulting my brother and me on a regular basis.

"You're joking, right?" I asked.

"Look, I get that we aren't exactly on the best of terms," he said. "But wouldn't you think it would be weird if we were all buddy-buddy with each other. Imagine the looks I would get from people."

"So...you're trying to tell me that you're being a total ass to me and my brother because you have a reputation to uphold," I said.

"I would be an ass to your brother regardless," Draco shrugged. "But you aren't too bad - I can deal with you."

"Great to know," I muttered. "It's nice to know that your insults are really just your way of showing that we are really friends."

"Don't take things so personally," Draco said. "You know that it would be weird for us to be the best of friends - wouldn't it be easier to just go back to the way things used to be between us?"

"I guess so," I said. "I couldn't even imagine it any differently now that you mention it."

"Well, people are starting to show up now, so I have to go," Draco said while looking around. "See you around Potter."

He jumped out of the chair and walked over to the Slytherin table and returned to being his usual obnoxious self. Seriously, what was up with him? This was his way of being so called "friends" with me? He is a strange boy, he really is. What was even the point of telling me all of this?

Well, I guess that he was right anyway. I couldn't exactly claim to hate Draco, we just had this thing going on where we had to insult each other all of the time. It was true that it would be weird if we acted any different towards one another. I couldn't even imagine just going up to Draco and spilling all of my problems to him like I would to someone like Neville.

Not too long afterwards, everything went back to normal when some of my actual, somewhat normal friends came down to sit with me while they ate their breakfast. Hermione, who seemed to be feeling better since our encounter with the house-elves, had announced something that made me at least a little happier for some reason.

"I've taken up a subscription to the Daily Prophet," she said. "I'm really tired of learning all of the news from Malfoy, it's really annoying to hear it all from him first."

I glanced over at the blonde across the Great Hall and saw him nodding at me in almost a greeting. I will never understand that boy as long as I live. He is such a freak...

As if on cue, a flood of owls came into the Great Hall to deliver the mail. We expected to see a newspaper for Hermione, but what we didn't expect was a load of mail from other people that had read the articles in Witch's Weekly. Hermione had a mountain of hate mail, but I wasn't far behind her with a small bag of my own hate mail.

"What is all that?" George asked.

He opened up the first one and read it out loud.

_Emily Potter - just because you are a famous witch because of your encounter with You-Know-Who doesn't give you the right to mess around with all of these boys. You should know better than that and you need to learn that it isn't right to mess with the hearts of men - it could lead you into trouble._

That one wasn't bad at all, it even seemed as though the person was concerned for my well-being. That was probably the only kind one that I received though. All of the other letters were filled with words that were similar to Ron's term "a scarlet woman" except they were a bit more crude. George wouldn't even let me read half of them.

"This is insane," Hermione muttered.

They were far worse with her though. All of these people seemed to be angry that she was supposedly messing around with Harry's heart. It was almost comical to read because of how untrue all of these accusations were towards her.

Unfortunately, she didn't only get harsh words. One writer was rude enough to put some undiluted bubotuber pus (that's what Neville told us it was anyway). We had to send her directly over to the hospital wing. Just as she left, we had another visitor join us.

"Fan mail I suppose," Snape said behind me.

"Yeah right," I muttered.

Snape picked up one of my letters and read it to himself. He raised an eyebrow every now and then indicating that this wasn't one of the kind and concerned letters. When he set it down, he simply just looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"They believe those articles," I explained. "So they think that I'm some kind of...scarlet woman..."

"I gathered that much information myself," Snape said. "I suggest that you try to stay on Rita Skeeters good side in the future Miss Potter. Though I hardly believe that it's going to be any use now that all of this has been published."

"I don't care what she says about me," I told him. "None of this is even slightly true, so I don't really care anyway."

"Just try to stay out of the paper, don't give her anything to report," he said. "False accusations about your promiscuity doesn't make for a very fond read to say the least. I'd rather not have you read those letters - they aren't appropriate to say the least."

He didn't say anything further and just continued to walk down the rows of the Great Hall. So I take it that he had been reading about the continuous lies that Rita Skeeter had been spitting out lately in the papers. Each one of them was worse than the last. It was getting worse when she continuously made accusations that I was sleeping with several different classmates. It made it really awkward whenever I talked to these people.

Something had to be done about Rita Skeeter - it was really starting to get out of hand.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I really didn't think that I was going to be able to put a chapter up today, but I made it! I know that there were some random events thrown in there that weren't all that necessary, but I just felt like being a bit creative and random!<strong>

**Speaking of being creative, I would seriously enjoy it if you all would try to make some sort of drawing from something that happens in my story. I was asked today by someone on Tumblr if I could get some fan art up and I would really love to see your interpretations on how Emily looks like to you. I'm no good at making art, so I can't really show you my mental image of my character, so I really hope that you all will participate in this! It would be really neat if you all could draw Emily in one of the scenes like the Yule Ball or simply just her in casual clothing. That or have her along with another character. Please be creative if you want to participate in this - don't worry, I won't judge harshly at all - I'm just excited to see if you all can come up with something.**

**If you would like to do this, just go to my Tumblr page and click the submissions button and it will allow you to submit a picture - here's the link: www(.)gryffindorgirl347(.)tumblr(.)com - just get rid of the parentheses.**

**Tell me what you think of the chapter! :D**


	34. We Have to Go Through a Maze?

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Harry Potter. Thanks for pointing that out.**

**Chapter 34**

It wasn't long after the hate mail incident that we had to go to Herbology class. Not too much worth mentioning happened in that class other than Hermione not showing up because she was still in the hospital wing trying to have the pus removed off her face.

By the time Care of Magical Creatures came around, we still hadn't seen Hermione yet. I guess there is more to removing pus than I thought. This class wasn't exactly one that anyone was really looking for because I was positive that the Slytherins were going to have something witty to say about Hermione's absence.

I was right.

"Where's your girlfriend Potter?" Pansy sneered. "Did you break up with her during lunch - is that why she was so upset during breakfast."

"No, she was upset because she caught sight of your face," I retorted.

"Excuse me?" she snarled.

"I didn't stutter," I snarled back with narrowed eyes.

"Listen you sl-" she started.

She didn't finish her insult, but I knew exactly where she was going with it. I guess that she figured that she could get away with calling me the same names that several others (all in letter form) were calling me. How clever of her - NOT!

"What's goin' on 'ere?" Hagrid asked us with a concerned look.

Pansy and I glared at each other, but didn't say another word. I guess that it was for the best that she kept her mouth shut, it would be a shame for all of those sick people in the hospital wing to have to see her face. I'm sure that would make them far worse than they were before.

After our stare down, Hagrid started off the class by introducing a new animal that surprisingly didn't seem to be too dangerous. When he brought us over towards a box to see what they were, I half expected them to be another round of shrewts for us to care for. Instead, I found several small, black, furry creatures that had long snouts. They looked very harmless, much to my own silent approval. I was tired of animals that had the ability to burn you alive.

"They're called nifflers," Hagrid announced. "They are very useful when yer lookin' for treasure - go on and take a look at 'em."

Everyone walked over to get a look at these friendly little creatures. The only real problem with them was that if you had anything valuable on you, it would immediately try to attack it. While we worked with them, I had to take off the locket that George gave me along with the charm bracelet that Snape had given me.

"Now that yer all situated, I'll give ya yer assignment for the day," Hagrid said. "I've buried some gold 'round 'ere and yer going to have ter set yer nifflers out lookin' for it. Whoever gets the most gold gets the prize."

One by one, each one of us stood in line to get a niffler from Hagrid. As soon as everyone got a hold of one, we all set out with our nifflers in search of the gold that was hidden.

"Where's Hermione?" Hagrid asked as I passed by.

"She had to go to the hospital wing," I said. "It's a long story, we'll explain later."

I walked around the area and tried to stay clear of too many people. I'm not much for big crowds really. Before long, in the middle of my thinking, someone came over and interrupted me.

I looked up suddenly from my niffler that was digging into the ground to see Draco following his niffler nearby. It was almost strange to see him away from his usual group of cronies.

"What?" I asked him.

"What was with all those letters this morning?" he asked casually.

"Oh, it was all hate mail," I said.

"Really - for what?" he asked.

"It was just Rita Skeeter's article about Harry and me," I shrugged. "You know, the one where I'm the school sleaze."

"Oh, that's a shame that people really believe that," Draco said with sympathy, which was very odd coming from him.

"Well, your girlfriend seems to believe it," I laughed.

"Girlfriend?" he asked. "Oh, Pansy - she isn't my girlfriend, she just wishes she was. You shouldn't listen to her anyway, she's not exactly the brightest of people."

"So glad to know that I'm not the only one that noticed that," I said.

It took me a second to realize that we were actually having a fairly civil conversation. It was weird, but I wasn't going to complain. It all ended quickly just as Harry and Ron barged over.

"What is he saying now?" Harry asked icily.

"Just leave her alone Malfoy," Ron said threateningly.

"I wasn't talking to her," he hissed. "I was just walking - I am allowed to do that."

He started to walk off and just as Harry and Ron turned their backs, he gave me a quick wave as he continued to walk. I really don't understand him sometimes. He's like a switch to be honest. When it's just me around, he talks to me just like he would with one of his friends, but as soon as anyone else comes around, he's quick to deny even speaking. He's a freak, that's all I have to say.

We continued searching for gold with our nifflers and before long, all three of us had a significant amount of coins - Ron got the most though. Then, before we knew it, class came to an end and we were all going up to return our nifflers and the coins.

"Count 'em all up," Hagrid said. "An' stop tryin' ter steal 'em Goyle - they're leprechaun coins, so they vanish after a few hours."

Everyone began to count their coins just as Hermione came into view across the lawn. She looked completely miserable and had bandages all around her hands. I couldn't half blame her either - Neville tells me that the stuff really burns if it comes into contact with your skin.

"Hey Hermione," Hagrid called. "What happened to yer hands?"

She came over to where we were standing and then went into explaining everything that had happened that morning. Hagrid seemed to be sympathetic and was able to understand what she was going through considering that he was going through the very same thing.

"Don't listen to 'em Hemrione," Hagrid said. "They tol' me ter jump into a lake because o' what I am - did I listen to them?"

"That's terrible Hagrid!" Hermione said.

"Eh, I get 'em all the time," Hagrid shrugged. "I don't care 'bout 'em anymore - I 'ave accepted what I am. There isn't any changin' it."

It was comforting to know that Hagrid had finally overcome what had happened to him a while back. I couldn't imagine that it was easy for him, but he was too good of a person to listen to the terrible things those people had said about him.

That wasn't the last of the hate mail for either of us though. We received plenty of it for the rest of the week. I didn't read my mail, not because I didn't want to, but because George took it every morning and threw it into a nearby bin - he didn't want to see any of it anymore. I didn't get it half as bad as Hermione did and mine was starting to dwindle as time went on, but her pile of mail seemed to get bigger each day. She was starting to get aggravated towards the week.

"I want to know how she found out about Viktor," she said suddenly at breakfast.

"Maybe she used an invisibility cloak," Ron suggested.

"It's impossible," Hermione sighed. "Moody would have seen right through it and he told me that he didn't see anyone."

"Maybe she bugged you," Harry said.

"Honestly, will you please read Hogwarts, A History," she muttered. "Those sort of devices cannot be used on the grounds - there is too much magic around... I'm going to find out what she's doing. Ooh, if it's something illegal, I'm going to get her!"

"Hermione, don't we have enough to worry about without this?" Ron sighed.

"I'm not asking you for help," she said. "I'll do it myself."

I couldn't tell you if she'd figured it out that day or not because I didn't see her much for the remainder of the day. I went on to assume that she was spending most of her time in the library, not that it was unusual for her to do that on a regular day anyway.

It wasn't until the end of the Easter holidays that we received a reply from Percy about Mr. Crouch. When Hedwig came in that morning, he carried Percy's letter along with a letter from Sirius and a package from Mrs. Weasley containing our Easter treats. What was odd was that Harry and Ron and the rest of the Weasley children got eggs the size of dragon's eggs while the eggs that Hermione and I got were hardly the size of a chicken egg.

"George, does your mum read Witch Weekly by any chance, does she?" I asked while eyeing my small egg.

"Yeah, she uses it for recipes," George said. "Why do you ask - oh."

He looked at my egg and almost wanted to laugh. I guess that he got the hint that Mrs. Weasley was trying to send me a message that she hated me for what she read in that magazine. She was under the impression that I was cheating on her son with multiple guys. Lovely.

"Don't let it bother you," George said. "She'll see reason soon enough."

"Yeah, but I don't want her to hate me," I said sadly.

"I'll send her a toilet in the mail today," he shrugged. "Then she can hate us both."

I rolled my eyes, but gave him a kiss because I thought it was sweet that he would even think to do that just to help me. When I heard him begin to make plans to do this with Fred, I had to quickly stop them because I knew that it wasn't any good to do that - they don't need to make their mother any angrier than she already is.

"What did Percy's letter say?" I asked Harry as he finished reading it.

"Not much, see for yourself," he said as he passed the letter over to me.

Just as I started to read it, I knew that I wouldn't actually get any information from it. Percy really wasn't one to say much and I knew that, even if Mr. Crouch was in some kind of trouble, that he would defend him more than he would his very own family.

_He is sending in regular owls with instructions. No, I haven't actually seen him, but. I think I can be trusted to know my own superior's handwriting. I have quite enough to do at the moment without trying to quash these ridiculous rumors. Please don't bother me again unless it's something important. Happy Easter._

I don't think that I would ever really understand Percy's aggravation with his family. It was almost as if he was completely embarrassed to even be associated with them and it was even worse to be related to them. I don't understand why he felt this way though - his family was filled with great people that I would love to be related to. I guess that it was just the way that Percy was...

* * *

><p>When the summer term finally started, Harry and I had to start preparing ourselves for the third task. As of now, we didn't have any kind of idea about what all was going to be involved, but we would be finding out that very day.<p>

Harry and I were told to walk down to the Quidditch field one night to figure out what exactly we were supposed to be doing during the task. I had to admit that I was a bit confused that we were going to be meeting there of all places. I just went on to assume that the field was going to be where the task was held.

"Maybe we'll have to play a game," Harry said hopefully.

"I seriously doubt that," I laughed. "Though it would be really nice to do something like that."

Before long, we met up with Cedric who was walking down to the field too. It was weird because I felt like I was expected to resent him since we were both competing against each other, but Cedric was a really likable person. He didn't seem to have anything against us even if we stole his thunder by being extra Hogwarts champions - not that we planned on doing that either. Cedric also didn't really get angry at us for being champions, which I could really respect. He didn't want people to hate us for being put in the tournament either - he was just a good person all around.

"What do you think it's going to be?" he asked as we went down the stone steps.

"I don't have a clue," I admitted.

"Me either," he said. "Fleur keeps saying that it's going to be some kind of underground trail where we have to find gold. I suppose that wouldn't be too bad."

"I wouldn't mind that at all," Harry nodded.

I was thinking the same thing he was. All we would have to do is get a niffler from Hagrid that would get the treasure for us - it was as easy as that.

That wasn't what was happening though, we realized that as soon as we stepped into what used to be the Quidditch field. Instead of the usual field, there were several walls of what looked like some sort of plant being grown all around it in a weird, twisted formation that looked really confusing.

Fleur and Viktor were already standing around looking at this odd looking hedge when we stepped into the field. As soon as we did, Ludo Bagman took that as a cue to come over to talk to all of us.

"Hello there," he said cheerfully.

No one said anything to him, we all just looked at him as though he had three noses on his face. Why was he always so cheerful? It was actually pretty annoying to be honest. It just wasn't natural to be that happy about something that I would assume to have the potential to kill us all.

"Does anyone have any idea what's going on?" he asked us.

I looked back at the hedge and thought about it for a moment. It was obvious.

"It's a maze," Viktor and I said at the same time.

I looked over at him and realized that he had probably figured that out before we had even entered the field. He only glanced at me for a moment and then returned his attention back to Bagman.

"That's right!" Bagman said. "The third task is pretty straightforward. You will all be placed in a maze and the Triwizard Cup will be placed in the middle of the maze and you all will have to find it. The first one to get to it gets full marks."

That seemed oddly simple - there had to be a catch and I wasn't the only one that was thinking about that.

"We simply 'ave to get through the maze?" Fleur asked.

"There will be obstacles along the way," Bagman smiled. "Hagrid has been as kind to provide us with some creatures that will be put in the way along with some spells that you will have to break to get through. Now, the champions with the most points-" he looked to Harry and Cedric, "-will get a head start. Then Miss Potter will go, followed by Mr. Krum and then finally Miss Delacour."

**(Author's Note: I do believe that I said that Emily was in third place behind Viktor Krum before. That was actually a mistake because I was saying third because I was thinking about Harry and Cedric having a lead on her. Sorry for any confusion!)**

It was hard to even think about the sort of things that Hagrid would put in the maze. It was actually a bit concerning. Most animals that were considered highly dangerous were considered innocent in Hagrid's eyes. I couldn't even begin to imagine what was considered dangerous to him.

"Well, that will be all unless you have any questions," Bagman said while looking at all of us who stood there silently. "Okay, you all may leave."

I started to walk off with Harry when he was stopped by Viktor who was standing close by.

"Could I haff a vord viff you?" he asked with a heavy accent.

It was odd to hear his voice because I didn't realize how much more defined his accent was in comparison to his brother's. Maybe he kept his native accent so well because he rarely if ever spoke to anyone...I don't know...

"Sure," Harry said looking a bit skeptical.

"Vill you valk vith me?" he asked.

Harry looked over at me and then back at Viktor.

"I'll see you later Emily," Harry told me.

I nodded and continued to walk towards the castle wondering what Viktor wanted with Harry. Viktor really wasn't one to talk, you didn't have to know him well to realize that. When I looked behind me, I noticed Bagman not too far away. Fearing that he might try to talk to me, I began to walk quickly along in an attempt to escape from him.

"Running from someone?" Cedric laughed near me.

I hadn't seen him there, so it was a bit of a shock. I guess that keeping near him might keep Bagman away.

"Yeah, Bagman," I said looking back. "He's a bit creepy, don't you think? He's always trying to get a word in with me."

"He's a bit too happy in my opinion," Cedric said thoughtfully. "I don't know, it just doesn't seem natural - all of the other judges don't act like that."

"I was thinking the same thing," I said.

We walked towards the castle a little in silence. It wasn't really awkward though because there really wasn't all that much to talk about.

"Any plans for the task?" Cedric asked. "Well, you don't actually have to tell me I guess..."

"Trying not to get killed is my only plan at the moment," I said honestly. "I'm a little afraid of what Hagrid is going to have in there to be honest."

"I was thinking about that too," Cedric said. "I've heard that he has a taste for dangerous animals."

"You don't know the half of it," I laughed.

"That bad?" he asked.

"He's wanted a pet dragon for years," I said, leaving out the part that he's actually had one before. "He thinks that they are cute."

"That's frightening," Cedric said while looking ahead. "And he's the one that's supposed to be picking out these creatures and if he thinks that then you know that it isn't going to be pretty."

Before I knew it, we were already in the castle around where I knew the Hufflepuff common room to be - I'd seen them go off that way several times in the past.

"Good luck with the task," Cedric said.

"You too," I smiled and waved as he went off the other way.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it!<strong>

**I've gotten a couple of submission - both of them beautifully drawn - for the fan art that I had been talking about before. I do hope that you all will continue to send those to my tumblr account, I really do love looking at them! Here's the link to my page: www(.)gryffindorgirl347(.)tumblr(.)com - you can also go there for any news on the story.**

**Tell me what you think!**


	35. What Happened to Mr Crouch?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 35**

When I got back to the common room, it was completely packed with all of the Gryffindor students that were all doing a variety of different things. I made my way over to my group, which included Ron, Hermione, Neville, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. As soon as I sat down next to George, I was already being questioned.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Viktor wanted to have a word with him," I told her.

"Really?" she asked sounding a but surprised - not that I blamed her at all.

Then they got to the questions that I was somewhat prepared for. They, meaning the guys, wanted to know all about the third task. I wasn't told not to say anything, so I guess that it didn't really matter if I told them or not.

"What do you have to do?" Lee asked excitedly.

"Well, it's going to be on the Quidditch field - " I started.

"You have to play Quidditch for the final task?" Fred interrupted me.

"Let her talk!" George said as he hit Fred on the arm lightly.

"It's a maze," I told them. "We have to go through it to find the middle of it where the Triwizard Cup will be held."

They all sort of waited for me to continue, but when I didn't they seemed to be a little disappointed.

"That's it?" Ron asked.

"There will be obstacles of course," I said. "Apparently Hagrid's providing a bunch of dangerous creatures."

"Hagrid?" Neville asked. "That's scary...who knows what he'll put in there..."

"Doesn't that mean that we won't get to actually see the task performed?" Lee asked. "Again? That's lame..."

"At least we don't have to go in it," Hermione said.

We continued to talk about all of the possible creatures that could be in the maze, but I seriously doubted that any of them were actually going to be considered by Hagrid. They seemed far too normal. During this discussion, I sort of zoned out as I thought about what Viktor could be talking about with Harry. It was starting to get late and he still wasn't back. Maybe he just had a lot to say…or maybe there was something wrong…

"What's the matter?" George asked as he held my hand.

"Just wondering where Harry is…" I told him. "He should be back by now…"

"I'm sure he's fine," George said soothingly. "He'll be back soon, I'm sure of it."

"There's just something that isn't right," I said. "I feel like there is something wrong."

It was true that I had a sense that something was wrong. Ever since we were young, Harry and I have had this weird sort of connection where we could somehow tell if the other was in danger or anything even if we weren't near each other.

For instance, when we were about eight or nine years old, I had wondered off into the local park around the Dursley's house. It wasn't long after I arrived that Dudley showed up with his usual crowd of friends. They went on making fun of my large and tacky closes, which Aunt Petunia forced me to wear, and then proceeded to crowd around me. It scared me a lot because they were a lot bigger than I was, so I started to run, but they were all surrounding me. Just when I was about to really freak out, I heard Harry yelling at them from behind. He was so angry with them that a nearby nest of bees suddenly flew out and went to attack them, which makes a lot more sense now than it did then.

Later in the night, just when I was about to go looking for him, Harry finally showed up, much to my own relief. However, I wasn't very relieved when I saw the pale and terrified look on his face. Knowing that something was very wrong, I walked over towards him, followed by Ron and Hermione. Harry didn't say anything at first, but then he took us all off to the side and began telling us what had happened.

"Mr. Crouch attacked Viktor?" Hermione asked in bewilderment as he finished up his story.

"Well, we assume that was what happened," Harry said quietly. "We didn't actually see him do it because I was going to get Dumbledore. It was really strange though, you should have seen the way that he was talking - it's like he was crazed."

"What did he say?" I asked.

"It was really confusing," Harry said. "First he was talking as though he was with Percy, but then he went insane and started asking for Dumbledore - begging was more like it. Then he went on about his wife and how it was his fault that his son is dead and something about Voldemort as well - it was really strange."

"What was he doing in the Forbidden Forest?" Ron asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Harry said.

* * *

><p>By the next day, there still wasn't any sign of where Crouch had disappeared to. Harry insisted that we send an owl over to Sirius to explain everything that had happened the night before, so we did that as soon as we had a break in classes to do that.<p>

"He said that Voldemort was getting stronger," Harry said as we set the owl off.

We stood around in the Owlery to talk about it because we knew that not many people came here anyway - especially at this time of day.

"That was it?" I asked. "Did he say anything else - like tell you how he was getting stronger? Maybe what he was doing?"

"Nothing, that's all he said," Harry said. "If only Snape hadn't gotten in my way…then I would have made it back in time to see him again…"

"Maybe he didn't want you there," Ron suggested suddenly. "Maybe he knew all about it-"

"Oh, come off it!" I said. "How could he have possible known?"

"He was a Death Eater Emily!" Ron said. "He has connections!"

"First off, you don't even have _proof_ to back that up," I said angrily. "And even if he was a Death Eater, obviously he did something to make Dumbledore trust him! He's not on their side Ron, how many times must I say this?"

"Well, you're not convincing me," he muttered.

"She's right Ron - you need to stop assuming that everything that he does is a plot to kill Harry off," Hermione said. "He hasn't given you any excuse to believe that."

"Oh come on," Ron said. "Don't try to make it seem like he's a saint - don't give me that look Emily!"

"I know he isn't a _saint_," I said. "But that doesn't mean that he's on Voldemort's side!"

"Stop saying his name," Ron said shortly.

Hermione went to say something else, but was silenced by Harry when we heard voices coming up the stairs and into the Owlery. They were speaking low and sounded as though they didn't want to be heard. I would recognize those voices anywhere…

"…that's blackmail…we could get in trouble for that…"

"We have to do something," the second voice said. "We've tried to be polite, but that's obviously not working."

The door opened up and I saw Fred and George looking at us as though we had a second head. They probably weren't expecting us here.

"What's going on?" I asked George suspiciously.

"We're sending a letter," George said innocently.

"To whom, may I ask?" I said.

"Er…I…it's really not that important," George stuttered.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Fred asked.

"…sending a letter…" I said quietly.

"To who?" Fred asked with a raised eyebrow.

I stood there silently, knowing that I had been caught. It would have been simple enough if it had just been George because he already knew about Sirius - Fred was an entirely different story. I guess that it was wrong to not tell him because we were best friends, but I just thought it would be easier to keep as many people out of it as I could at the moment.

"How is that any of your business?" Ron asked.

"Okay then, it's settled," Fred said. "We'll stay out of your business if you stay out of ours."

They nodded, but I just gave a look to George. He looked down quickly and tried to put on that I-am-so-innocent face that I've seen so many times. When I raised an eyebrow, he mouthed "later" to me and I nodded. He better tell me later…

Just as they were about to walk out of the door, Ron had to open his mouth again.

"Who are you blackmailing?" he asked.

Fred and George looked at each other and then back at their younger brother.

"We were only joking," Fred said simply.

"No you weren't," Ron said.

"Don't be an idiot Ron," George said with an eye roll.

"I heard what you said," Ron insisted. "And George is right - it will get you in a lot of trouble if you're going to blackmail someone."

"Okay _Percy_," Fred mocked.

"Keep it up and you'll be a prefect just like him," George said.

Ron went all red around the ears and stopped talking as the exited the room. Being told that you were like Percy isn't exactly something that anyone wants to be told. As far as I was concerned, it was one of the worst insults that anyone could give.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Harry asked after a moment.

"You don't think that they know something about Crouch, do you?" Hermione asked.

"I doubt that," Ron said uncomfortably.

"What's wrong Ron?" I asked.

"I don't know," Ron said. "It's just that they've been obsessed with earning gold recently - haven't you noticed that with George?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "With that joke shop idea - they aren't doing anything illegal."

Ron gave me a skeptical look as if he believed that they weren't telling me everything. I really don't think that they would do anything illegal just to earn a bit of money - that wasn't the type of people that they are. Besides, I'm sure that George would tell me if they were up to anything that I didn't know about.

Later on, we went into our Defense Against the Dark Arts class for the start of the period. I hadn't spoken to George yet about what had happened in the Owlery, but I was going to get this secret of theirs out of him by the end of the day, I was sure of it.

I sat down in my usual seat next to Neville and listened in to Harry as he spoke with Moody about whether or not they had found anything out about Mr. Crouch.

"No, we haven't seen anything," Moody said.

"Could he have Disapparated?" Ron asked.

"You can't do that on Hogwarts grounds Ron!" Hermione said for the thousandth time. "But there are other ways of escaping, aren't there?"

"That's right," Moody said. "Have you ever considered becoming an Auror?"

Hermione blushed at this compliment, so I took the opportunity to speak up.

"Could he have been kidnapped?" I asked.

"It's possible," Moody nodded. "We can't rule much of anything out - he could be anywhere really."

There wasn't much more discussion about it because all that was needed to be said was already said. He was nowhere to be found and could be anywhere on the planet by now. He disappeared without a trace.

"What happened?" Neville asked.

I looked around to see if anyone else was listening in - they weren't - and quickly told him everything that I had heard in a hushed tone to make sure that no one was listening. When I finished, Neville looked as confused as we had been.

"There isn't any sign of him?" Neville asked.

"Not that anyone has found," I said.

"I wonder how he escaped that quickly," he said. "Harry couldn't have been in the castle _that_ long, so he must have been moving along - maybe he's in Hogsmeade."

"He might be," I said. "But it's hard to say - no one really knows what happened."

* * *

><p>Later that day, I went up to the common room to see what George was doing. When I found him in there with Fred and Lee, I motioned for him to come over to the table that I was sitting at to ask him about what had happened earlier.<p>

"How about we go for a walk," he suggested.

I nodded as we stepped out of the common room and began to walk around the castle together as he began to explain what was going on.

"It's about the gold that Bagman owes us for the Quidditch World Cup," George said.

"But he gave you your money - I saw him do it," I said.

"No, you saw him give us leprechaun gold," George said. "It vanished after a few hours and we were left with nothing."

We walked passed a few more portraits that stared at us in curiosity before I spoke up again.

"So why is it such a secret?" I asked. "Why were you trying to make it out like it's some shady back deal or something?"

"It's not exactly something that we want to advertise," he shrugged. "Besides, it's none of Ron's business anyway. He's becoming quite the prat, that one is…"

"He's not as bad as Percy though," I said in defense. "But I will agree that he's a prat."

We stopped around the edge of the castle and sat down on a nearby bench. Now that I knew that it wasn't anything illegal that he was involved with - just as I suspected - I wasn't worried about much of anything anymore.

He held onto my hand and smiled at me. Now that I thought about it, the two of us really hadn't had a lot of alone time since we had started dating. I was so caught up in everything with the Tournament that I had hardly had any time to think, let alone spend time with my boyfriend.

He leaned in to kiss me and I kissed him too. Even though we had been dating for a while, there was still a sort of spark that always happened whenever we kissed and it was nice. He ran his hands through my hair as I got lost in the moment, feeling his lips against mine. He deepened the kiss just as we heard a cough from around the corner. We suddenly flew apart and looked over to see Snape walking around with a single eyebrow raised.

George coughed awkwardly as he stepped by us without any comment. He was nearly as bad as Harry with interrupting us, it was rather annoying.

"It's nearly time for bed," he said. "You two should be heading off to your dormitories."

Snape spoke very slowly when saying this and it was also very apparent that he was glaring at George with a threatening look. I have to say, I wouldn't want to be caught under that gaze.

"Y-yes sir," George stammered.

"And do try to keep your hands to yourself Mr. Weasley," Snape said slowly.

George's eyes widened in fear as Snape gave him a small smirk as we walked in the opposite direction. It took everything in my power not to laugh at that moment.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you all like it! So, I just wanted to let you all know that I now have a Twitter - if you have one, you can follow me ShannenWrites (no, writes isn't my last name if that's what you're thinking). I'll be giving updates there as well as on my blog on Tumblr. Trying to spread the word of my story! Thanks again for reading - tell me what you think!<strong>


	36. Something We Both Saw

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 36**

The following day we received a reply to our letter to Sirius during breakfast. As soon as the letter was given to us, I quickly went around the table so I could read it over Harry's shoulder.

_Harry and Emily_

_Harry, what do you think you are playing at, walking off into the forest with Viktor Krum? I want you to swear, by return owl, that you are not going to go walking with anyone else at night, that includes you too Emily. There is somebody highly dangerous at Hogwarts. It is clear to me that they wanted to stop Crouch from seeing Dumbledore and Harry, you were probably feet away from them in the dark. You could have been killed._

_Your names didn't get into the Goblet of Fire by accident. If someone's trying to attack you two, they're on their last chance. Stay close to Ron and Hermione, do not leave Gryffindor Tower after hours, and arm yourself for the third task. Practice Stunning and Disarming. A few hexes wouldn't go amiss either. There's nothing you can do about Crouch. Keep your heads down and look after yourselves. I'm waiting for your letter giving me your word you won't stray out-of-bounds again._

_-Sirius_

"Yeah, because he's really one to preach to us about staying in the boundaries of the school," I muttered. "After everything that he did at school…"

"Who does he think he is?" Harry demanded.

"He's just worried about you two," Hermione said.

"No one has even tried to attack us all year," I said.

"Someone put your name into the Goblet Emily," Hermione said. "So someone has got to be after you - there isn't any question in that."

She did have a point, and so did Sirius I suppose. It just felt a little ironic that Sirius of all people is trying to encourage us to stay out of trouble. A bit ironic if you ask me, but Hermione was right. He was just trying to keep us safe from whatever was going on.

For the next few days, we did our best to stay inside of the castle. While we were there, we spent most of the time looking for different types of spells that could help us in the third task. In other words, Hermione made sure that we were in the library if we weren't in class - that or we were in empty classrooms practicing these spells.

"Can't we find someone else to practice on?" Ron asked as he sat up for the millionth time.

Because we didn't really have any other choice, we recruited Ron and Neville as our test subjects for the spells that we were practicing in the empty Charms classroom. By this time, we had stunned each of them about a dozen times each. I couldn't imagine that this was too pleasant for them, so I couldn't really blame Ron for getting tired of it.

"I second that," Neville muttered as he sat up.

I held out my arm to help him stand up again and Harry did the same for Ron. They both appeared to be slightly dazed from all this stunning, but overall their moods seemed to be the biggest problem. Well, Ron was the one that was complaining the most, Neville just stumbled around a bit after each spell was cast.

"Well, I think that we're done with that one anyway," Hermione said as she looked down at the list of useful charms that she created in the library. "They aren't having any problems with that one, so we should probably move onto the next one."

"Please tell me it isn't going to be painful," Ron mumbled miserably.

"It's the Impediment Curse," Hermione read off. "It's supposed to slow down any attacker…"

We were only allowed to practice that one a couple of times because we were interrupted by the bell. Unfortunately for us, this meant that we had to go up to the North Tower for Divination. How wonderful, I couldn't wait to have my death predicted _again_.

When we made it up to the tower, it was boiling in the room. The fire was still going because Trelawney refused to ever put it out which made it a real challenge to concentrate at all. Luckily enough, Harry managed to open up the window slightly so a small breeze could come through.

"We have nearly finished up our unit on planetary divination," Trelawney said in a misty voice. "Today, however, we have an excellent opportunity to observe the effects that Mars will have on us."

"Wonderful, I can't wait," I whispered to Neville who let out a small snort.

"What was that Mr. Longbottom?" she asked.

"N-nothing," he said. "I had something in my throat."

Neville had been around me far too long. He was starting to be able to lie on the spot, something that he hadn't been to good at when I had first met him.

As she went on about how Mars was going to effect us, I laid my head down on the table and looked out the window. It would be really nice to be out there, but Harry and I had decided that we weren't going to go out there because we knew that Sirius wanted us to stay in the castle just in case anything were to happen.

Before I knew it, my eyelids slowly began to close as I drifted off into a dream world. I was walking outside of the castle with George. We were laughing about something and looking out at the lake together. I was feeling the cool breeze as it flew around us and George's hand that held onto mine. We stopped around a tree and he put his arms around me. Just as he leaned in to kiss me, something changed.

All of a sudden, the scene changed to something incredibly familiar, but slightly different from what I remembered. I was now standing outside of a large house and looking in through the window. Inside of the house, I saw a small, balding man wheezing on the floor in front of a chair that was facing in another direction that had a large snake slithering around it.

Just as I looked in, an owl swooped into the room and dropped a letter to the person that sat in the chair. The balding man continued to sob uncontrollably as the owl landed on the chair and sat for a few moments.

"You're in luck Wormtail," a cold voice came from around the chair. "You're blunder hasn't ruined everything. He is dead."

"T-that's w-w-wonderful n-news, my l-lord," Wormtail stuttered.

"It appears, however, that you are out of luck Nagini," the cold man said. "I will not be feeding you Wormtail today…there are always the Potter Twins though…"

A cold chill went down my spine as the snake hissed hungrily and slithered around the room. It's tongue flicked angrily as it glared at Wormtail who was still sitting on the floor with tears staining his face. He looked terrified.

"There will be a consciences for your mistakes Wormtail," the cold voice said. "To remind you that I will not tolerate any kind of mistakes."

Wormtail looked up from the floor suddenly with a look of terror flashing across his face. He stood up shakily and began to walk slowly backwards in fear.

"M-my lord…I beg of you-" he said.

"Crucio!"

Wormtail screamed loudly and began to twitch on the floor in a way that looked completely unnatural. I tried to hold my ears to keep from hearing his painful screams, but it did nothing. My scar began to burn on my forehead and I heard myself screaming and every nerve in my body felt like it had been lit on fire.

"Emily!" someone was yelling.

Did he find me? Did Voldemort see me through the window?

"Emily!" the person said again.

This time it sounded all too familiar. The pain in my scar began to fade only slightly as I opened my eyes and looked frantically around the room to find out where I was. Standing over me, looked frightened and pale as ever, was Neville accompanied by some others that were in my class.

"A-are you all right?" Neville asked shakily.

Everyone in the room was silent and looking either at me or at the floor a little ways from me. When I turned my head, I saw Harry looking at me as well. He was sitting up on the floor slowly and looking completely terrified and confused as he held onto his scar.

"Of course they aren't all right," Professor Trelawney spoke up. "What was it? Was it a premonition? What was it?"

Harry and I met each others eyes and I knew instantly that he had seen the very same thing that I had seen. We had to tell someone immediately - we had to see Dumbledore. But there was no way that Trelawney was going to just let us go if she knew anything.

"It was nothing," we both said at the same time.

"Just a headache," Harry added.

Professor Trelawney looked at us like we were completely insane. I guess that it would be extremely obvious that we were just lying.

"Both of you were grabbing your scars!" she proclaimed. "Both of you saw something!"

"We always get headaches at the same time…" I lied. "Didn't you notice that before?"

"Can we go to the hospital wing?" Harry asked.

"But-" she started.

"We need to go to the hospital wing," I said.

Both of us went back to our tables to grab our stuff. Of course, we weren't actually going to go to the hospital wing, but I knew for sure that I wasn't going to be returning to this class after what had just happened. On our way out, I caught the glances of Ron, Hermione, and Neville who all looked worried and confused. They were just going have to wait for an explanation.

As soon as we made it down from the North Tower, we both went in the direction of Dumbledore's office without even asking the other if we thought we should go there or not. It really wasn't a question - we had to tell Dumbledore, that was obvious to both of us. However, we ran into a problem when we arrived at the gargoyle that stood in front of Dumbledore's office.

"Do you know the password?" I asked Harry after a moment of looking at it.

"No…but maybe we could figure it out," Harry said. "How about…sherbet lemon?"

Nothing happened at all.

"Pear Drop?" I suggested. "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?"

"Chocolate Frog?" Harry said. "Licorice Wand?"

"Oh come on, this is urgent!" I said and kicked at the gargoyle.

"How about…Sugar Quill?" Harry said, starting to get aggravated. "Drooble's Best Blowing Gum?"

"This is useless…" I muttered. "It could be anything! What about Cockroach Cluster?"

When it moved, we both looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"I was joking…" I said.

We both stood there for a minute and then simultaneously stepped onto the staircase that started moving up automatically. After a minute or so, the staircase stopped moving and we stood in front of a closed door that we knew to be Dumbledore's office.

"I just don't see the connection Dumbledore," a familiar voice came from behind the closed doors.

"Is that Fudge?" I asked Harry.

He nodded as we slowly stepped towards the door so that we could listen to what was going on in the room. What was Fudge doing at Hogwarts?

"The Ministry has sources that know Bertha very well," Fudge continued. "They all say the same thing - it is very likely that she got lost all on her own. We have no evidence at all that involves foul play. I really don't think that Barty Crouch's disappearance can be linked to her disappearance!"

"So what do you think happened to Crouch, Minister?" Moody said in his familiar growl.

"Either he finally cracked from all the pressure," Fudge said. "Which wouldn't be very surprising if you ask me. He's probably lost his mind and gone wandering-"

"If he was wondering, how do you suppose he got away so quickly?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Well…" Fudge said. "I'm not sure. I just need to see the place where he was found. Didn't you say that it was near the Beauxbaton carriage? Dumbledore, I'm sure that you know what that woman is."

"A very excellent dancer in my opinion, it's a shame that you couldn't discover that for yourself," Dumbledore said innocently.

"I think we ought to wrap up this conversation," Moody growled suddenly.

"Of course, let's go see the grounds," Fudge said.

"It's not just that," Moody said. "It appears that the Potter twins are standing outside of your door waiting to speak with you headmaster."

I blinked in surprise, then remembered that Moody can see through walls and such. Why didn't we think about that before? I guess that it didn't matter much now that they all knew. The door suddenly opened and we stood there awkwardly as all three of the men looked at us.

"Harry, Emily, please come in," Dumbledore smiled at us.

Slowly and awkwardly, we both came into the room and looked around at everyone. I wonder how long Moody had known that we were listening in.

"How are you two?" Fudge asked.

"Fine," we both lied at the same time.

"We were just talking about the night that Mr. Crouch showed up on the grounds," Fudge said. "I believe that it was one of you that found him there."

"That was me," Harry said. "And I didn't see Madame Maxine there either."

"Oh…" Fudge said awkwardly. "Well, it was just a thought."

"Not a very logical one if you ask me," I said. "Wouldn't you think it would take a bit of effort for her to hide around without anyone noticing?"

Fudge didn't have an answer for that one, probably because he knew that he was wrong. It was true, the headmistress would have a real time trying to hide from everyone - she's rather tall.

"We were wondering if we could have a word with you Professor," I said after a moment.

"That would be wonderful," Dumbledore said. "Our examination of the grounds won't take long - just wait for me here."

Each one of them exited the room at that time. Once they were all gone, we decided to have a look around the room. Well, Harry did, I was more focused on Fawkes, the phoenix that was standing on a golden perch next to the door.

"Hello Fawkes," I smiled. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

I hadn't seen Fawkes in a good while now and he had gotten a great deal bigger. I still will never forget the first time that I had seen him. He burst into flames, so it was a rather gruesome sight to say the least. I sat next to him and pet him for a while as I looked around at all of the different portraits of previous headmasters looked at me. I didn't recognize any of them, so it was a little strange.

"What is this?" Harry asked.

I stood up again and walked over to see what he was looking at. It was a large, shallow basin that had a silvery light to it. It didn't look familiar at all and I wondered how long it had been there. Then I noticed that there was a door that had apparently kept it locked away from view. So it probably wasn't supposed to be something that we should see.

"I don't know," I said after looking for a minute.

Harry went to touch the stuff in the basin, but I quickly swatted his hand away and gave him a look. Had he not learned anything?

"Don't touch it," I said. "You don't know what it could be…"

"I just wanted to see…" Harry muttered.

"Here," I said as I took out my wand. "Let me try this."

I prodded at the unknown substance and everything in it moved around and swirled quickly. When it stopped, it looked like glass. When I looked into it, there was, instead of the bottom like I expected, a large, circular room below that we were looking at from a bird's-eye view.

There weren't any windows in the room, but there were crowds of people that were sitting on the rows that were around every wall. In the center sat an empty chair that had chains surrounding it. It was strange looking, but I couldn't help but try to get a closer look.

Just when I stood close enough so that my nose was touching the substance, I felt myself falling quickly into the basin with Harry right next to me.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you all liked it! I know that it was weird to end it right there, but I wanted to include all of that in the next chapter.<strong>

**ATTENTION ARTISTS! I mentioned before that I would really love it if people would submit art. I was wondering if anyone could draw a picture that included Emily and either Snape, Harry, George, or Neville in it. That or any other characters would be fine. You can submit it through my Tumblr page, Twitter, or even on here. Thanks!**

**So, tell me what you think!**


	37. The Memories of Albus Dumbledore

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 37**

Suddenly, when we stopped falling, we landed on a bench. It was weird though because it wasn't any kind of crash landing, we sort of just landed there. When I looked up, I expected to see the circular window that we had fallen through, but instead their was nothing.

"Well, I'm glad that wasn't weird…" I muttered to Harry.

Harry gave a short laugh and then I looked around in shock to see that we weren't alone. We were now in the room that we had seen through the weird substance in Dumbledore's office, but it was different. The empty room that we had seen before was now filled with witches and wizards, none of which seemed to notice our sudden and abrupt appearance. I was completely shocked when I turned to my right and saw Professor Dumbledore sitting directly next to me. Harry, who was sitting on my left, spotted him at the same time I did.

"Professor!" Harry said in shock.

"Professor, we're so sorry," I said quickly. "We didn't mean any harm, we were just looking through the basin."

He wasn't paying any attention to me. Was he angry? Maybe this was his way of being furious at us, just ignoring us completely. I guess that we sort of deserved it. We had no right to sneak around his office and go through his belongings. Then again, it seemed very unlike Dumbledore to ignore us like this. He wasn't that kind of person…

"Emily…" Harry said in a low tone.

"What?" I asked and turned to him.

He was looking around the room as if he realized something all of a sudden. Of course, I was completely oblivious to this, so I sort of wish that he would hurry up and explain what was the matter.

"This is a memory," Harry said slowly.

"A memory?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember in our second year when I told you that I went inside of Riddle's diary?" he asked.

"Sure, you said that Riddle showed you something in his past," I said.

"Well, it was a lot like this," he explained. "You get to be inside of the memory and see everything that happens, but you have no effect on what happens. You're just an observer."

I looked around the room again to try to pick up any clues of when this memory actually took place. Dumbledore didn't look any different in this memory than he does now, so obviously it couldn't have been that long ago. Then again, I'm not really sure how old Dumbledore really is…

The room that we were in had a very ominous mood to it. It appeared to be some sort of underground dungeon and no one really appeared to be all that excited to be here - they all looked rather grim if you ask me. We were sitting on the benches that circled the room and just below the risen benches sat a single chair that had chains hanging off of it.

"Do you think that it's a courtroom?" I asked Harry quietly.

"I'm not sure…" Harry said.

Just as he was about to say something else, I felt an extreme chill go throughout my spine. Next thing we knew, the doors at the corner of the dungeon opened and a single person, followed by two dementors came in slowly through the doors. That explained the cold feeling that I just got. Then I turned my attention to the man that was being brought into the room. He looked oddly familiar…is that -

"Karkaroff?" Harry asked quietly as the dementors brought him to the chair. "What is he doing here?"

I watched as they sat him down in the chained chair. As the dementors stepped away, the chains began to snake around Karkaroff's arms, bounding him in place. Everyone in the room remained silent, until the case began with the sound of Barty Crouch's voice. When I noticed him sitting behind a podium, it was obvious that this case had taken place years ago. He looked so much younger in this memory than he did now.

"Igor Karkaroff," Mr. Crouch addressed. "You have been brought forth to present information to the Minsistry, is this correct?"

"Yes sir, I wish to help," Karkaroff said in a shaky voice. "I know that the Ministry is trying to round up all of the Dark Lord's supporters, an I hope that I can be of assistance to this…"

The courtroom suddenly broke out into a quiet murmur. It didn't sound too pleasant though, so it was obvious that no one in the room believed him.

"Filth," someone growled nearby.

I turned around and saw none other than Mad-Eye Moody. It was really odd to see him like this because he looked nearly normal with two regular eyes in his head. It's probably weird that it became normal to see that crazed eye all of the time.

"It took me months to track this one down," Moody mumbled. "And Crouch is just going to let him go if he has the names. If it were me, I would just get the information and let the dementors have him back - oh, you don't like the dementors do you?"

There really wasn't much need to ask because the look on Dumbledore's face said it all. He didn't like the dementors at all. In fact, it even seemed as though the thoroughly disgusted him by just being on the same planet as him.

"I believe that you have some names for us Karkaroff," Crouch said. "Let's hear them."

I turned to Harry for a moment and saw that he was completely glued to everything that was happening. I couldn't blame him either, it was interesting to be here in a sense. Though I had the sense that I shouldn't be here because Dumbledore didn't want us to find this. Then again, I couldn't help but wait in anticipation for the names that he was going to call out. Maybe they were people that I'd heard of. Would he even tell the truth? Or was he just going to frame people to save himself?

"You must understand," Karkaroff said. "The Dark Lord operated in extreme secrecy. He preferred that we - meaning his supporters of course - not that I would like to be associated-"

"Would he just say the names already," Moody said.

Although I hate to admit it, I couldn't agree with Moody any more than right now. He was just trying to get on Crouch's good side so he wouldn't want to have him killed after he gave out the names.

"We never knew all of the names of followers," he continued. "He was the only one that knew each of us by name - "

"Would you give us the names," Crouch said impatiently.

Karkaroff looked around the room for a moment, probably in fear. He was getting ready to hand out the names of people that could potentially get killed for doing Voldemort's bidding. That wasn't really saying anything on his part though. It was kind of sick that he was ready to give out people's names just for his own safety - not that those people didn't deserve what they got, but it was still sick. It almost put him at a lower standard. Almost.

"Antonin Dolohov," he said shakily. "He tortured many Muggles - "

"We already have Dolohov," Crouch said in a blunt manner. "He was caught after you were."

"W-wonderful news," he said while shaking.

It couldn't be more apparent that he didn't think that it was wonderful. This wasn't going to help his case at all if he gave out names that weren't useful to the Ministry.

"There was…Rosier - Evan Rosier," Karkaroff said hopefully.

"Rosier is dead," Crouch said. "He was killed when he struggled against us."

Karkaroff remained silent for a moment, probably thinking up of different people to name off. That and he was probably terrified of the fact that he wasn't helping himself.

"There was Travers - he helped murder the McKinnons," Karkaroff said quickly. "And Mulciber! He put many people under the Imperius Curse and made them do Voldemort's bidding! And Rookwood - he was a spy! He passed along information from the Ministry!"

The crowd began to talk amongst itself which could only mean one thing. He had finally provided them with a name that could be of some use to them.

"Augustus Rookwood of the Department of Mysteries?" Crouch repeated.

"That's him," Karkaroff nodded. "He collected information within-"

"Okay, we already have Travers and Mulciber," Crouch interrupted him. "If that is all, I believe that it is time for you to return to your cell in Azkaban."

"No - I have more," Karkaroff shouted desperately.

Crouch looked a bit surprised that Karkaroff had shouted, but listened in to what he was about to say.

"Snape - Severus Snape!" he shouted again.

It felt like a rock had dropped inside of me and my throat constricted. There it was. There had always been assumptions and accusations that flew among us about Snape being a Death Eater - but none of them had been confirmed until now. Even if I had suspected it, I didn't like having it confirmed.

It wasn't any better that I felt Harry's eyes boring into the side of my head. I half expected him to start saying "I told you so," but I don't think that he would at this point.

"Snape has been cleared by the council - Albus Dumbledore has vouched for him," Crouch said.

"NO!" Karkaroff said angrily. "Severus Snape _is_ a Death Eater!"

There was a great murmur amongst the crowd, but Dumbledore stood up next to me quickly.

"Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater," Dumbledore announced. "However, he decided to take our side before Lord Voldemort's downfall and turned spy against them. He is no more a Death Eater than I am."

So that's what happened. But how did he convince Dumbledore that he was on our side? I guess that it was just going to remain a matter between Dumbledore and Snape. It didn't seem like anyone ever wanted to talk about that. I wish that he would tell me, so then I could get some sort of understanding, but I knew that he wouldn't.

"Very well," Crouch said. "We shall review your case. In the meantime, you may return to your cell in Azkaban."

As his voice faded away, I felt the room begin to spin. Before it focused in on what I guessed to be another scene, I still felt Harry's gaze at my side. He wanted to talk about it, but I had no interest at the moment. I knew that he wasn't going to rub it in my face because he knew wouldn't do that because it was something serious to me.

"Emily?" he asked quietly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said bluntly. "What's going on now?"

He looked hesitant to answer me, but when the scene finally came into focus, Harry's jaw dropped and I raised an eyebrow. It was the same dungeon, but Karkaroff was no longer there. Where he had been sitting before sat Ludo Bagman. He didn't look anything like he did now - he was much younger and it was obvious that this was in the days where he had played for the Quidditch team. But what was he doing here?

"_Bagman_ was a Death Eater?" Harry gasped.

"Listen," I hushed him as the case began.

We turned our attention to Crouch who now looked a lot more tired than he had before. It was hard to say how many years had passed, but Mr. Crouch looked as though it had been eighty years. I guess that was what this job did to you after a while.

"Ludo Bagman," Crouch addressed him. "You have been brought forth to answer to the charges relating to the activities of Death Eaters. We heard evidence against you. Do you have anything to add to your testimony before we proceed?"

"Only that I've been - well - a bit of an idiot," Bagman said awkwardly.

By the look on everyone's faces, it was apparent that everyone had taken a liking to Bagman. I assumed that, at the time, he was a very popular Quidditch player, so he had that on his side.

"Ludovic Bagman, you were caught passing information to Lord Voldemort's supporters," Crouch announced. "For this, I suggest you spend an imprisonment in Azkaban-"

It was hard to tell what Crouch's next words were by the outrage that the crowd went up in. Many of the witches and wizards in the crowd stood up and were shouting things and shaking their fists in protest of what Crouch was saying.

"I've told you," Bagman said over the crowd. "I had no idea that I was passing information! Rookwood was an old family friend - how could I have known any different? I thought that he was on our side!"

It was very believable to be honest. Bagman did seem the type to just go passing around information, completely oblivious to who he was telling or what was to become of it. He was kind of an idiot in a way.

"It shall be voted on then," Crouch said angrily and turned to the jury. "All in favor of imprisonment - raise your hands."

Not a single person raised their hand. Instead, the crowd burst out into applause. Nothing needed to be said before the scene began to fade away once again. Bagman had been set free because, not only was he popular in sports, but he was also a completely harmless moron. That was a fact.

When the scene came back into focus, it was the most miserable one that I had seen so far. Instead of the quiet chatter that went around in the previous memories, there was complete silence in the courtroom. In the center of the courtroom where only a single seat had sat before were now four chairs in its place, all of them with chains around them.

Mr. Crouch, who had looked tired and miserable before, now looked about three times his age and even worse than I had ever seen him before. Beside him in the stands sat a woman around his age that appeared to be extraordinarily nervous.

"Let them in," Crouch said in a hollow voice that echoed through the silent courtroom.

The door opened up to reveal six dementors that were escorting four people to the center of the room towards the chairs. I noticed a slight shift in the crowd as the prisoners sat in their chairs. Many people turned to their neighbors and began to whisper things that I couldn't hear from where I was sitting. There was always something in common though, they all seemed to be giving Mr. Crouch a very skeptical and sorrowful look. I must be missing something.

In the crowd of four people, I didn't recognize one of them. The first one was a very large man that appeared to have no expression to tell whether or not he was worried. The second man wasn't hiding his fear at all as his eyes shifted nervously around the courtroom as if he wished he was anywhere but here. The third person was a woman with dark hair and eyes that seemed to view this case as something to be proud of. The last person appeared to be a boy in his late teens. This boy looked petrified and he continuously shot horrified looks around the courtyard with a nervous and pleading look plastered on his young, boyish face.

As the chains went around the four prisoners, the nervous woman next to Crouch began to rock nervously back and forth as she stared out at them.

"You have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law so that we may pass judgment on you," Mr. Crouch said without a crack in his voice. "For a crime so horrid, that -

"Father, father please," the youngest prisoner begged.

So that was what I had been missing. This boy was Mr. Crouch's son - the one that Sirius had told us about during our last visit to Hogsmeade. He had mentioned that his son had been convicted of the crime of being a Death Eater and that his father had no mercy on him at all. Sirius hadn't been exaggerating at all. By the cold look on Crouch's face, it appeared that he had no sympathy at all for his only son. The woman that was crying next to him must have been Mrs. Crouch, who had died just after her son.

"We have evidence against you," Crouch continued after the interruption. "The four of you have been accused of capturing the Auror Frank Longbottom and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge on where You-Know-Who is hiding - "

"Father, _please_," his son cried from the chained chair. "I didn't - you have to believe me! Father, I didn't do it!"

"You are further accused of using the very same curse on Alice Longbottom after he would not provide you with the information that you were seeking," Crouch yelled over the sobs of his son. "You planned to restore your master to power and continue in the violence that you have created - "

"Mother!" the boy screamed over his father. "Don't let him do this - it wasn't me!"

The witch that I knew to be Mrs. Crouch now broke out into uncontrollable sobs at the plea of her son. Mr. Crouch, who spoke even louder than before, appeared to have little emotion for what his family was now going through.

"I know ask the jury to raise their hands if you believe that this act deserves a lifetime sentence in Azkaban!" Mr. Crouch yelled over his wife and son.

Each of the members of the jury raised their hands in unison as the boy shrieked even louder than before in complete and utter horror. The screams only got louder as the dementors came back over to return the prisoners to their cells.

"NO!" the boy yelled. "MOTHER! NO! I DIDN'T DO IT! Don't let them take me - don't let them do it!"

The woman with the large, black hair and dark eyes smiled in triumph as if she had just won a medal of honor. She stood up willingly from the chair and walked back with the dementors looking as proud as ever.

"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch!" she smiled insanely. "You just wait - he'll be back and he'll reward us!"

Crouch's son didn't go as easily as the others. He put up a fight with the dementors and tried with every fiber in his being to stay in the courtroom to get his father's attention.

"I am your son!" he shrieked.

"You are no son of mine!" Mr. Crouch yelled.

It was a horrific scene and I nearly lost myself in it and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a voice behind me speak to me.

"I think that it is time to return to my office," Dumbledore's voice said.

All of a sudden, Harry and I felt ourselves being dragged backward and we were once again in Dumbledore's office. It was all a shock and I couldn't even think straight because of what I had just seen. I had known before that Crouch's son had been taken away for helping Voldemort, but I never even imagined what that could have been like to witness. It was terrifying.

I would have never imagined the reasoning for his charges either. He was involved in torturing Neville's parents into insanity. Neville had told me earlier in the year what had happened in minor details, but it never occurred to me that the people that had done this were even still around. I guess that I had figured that they had faded into the darkness along with Voldemort. I had just witnessed before my eyes the people that had made his life a living hell and I could never forgive them for that.

In a way, I pitied Crouch's son, but at the same time, I hated him for everything that he was worth. Was he truly involved with the torturing of Neville's parents? It's hard to say now that he was dead. I guess that no one would know. What about the other three though? Especially the one woman that sat in the chair as if it were a throne. Was she still in Azkaban or had she gone insane because of the dementors? She was proud of what she did and she didn't hide it either. That's what made me hate her the very most out of all of them. She has no idea the pain that she caused Neville and she doesn't even care. Not that it would matter to a sick person like her, she would probably be thrilled with the fact that she had ruined someone's life.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, I hope that you liked it! Sorry that it's up a little late, but I guess that it's becoming a habit of mine to be inconstant with my writing. <strong>

**It was pointed out by someone that this story is considered a "twins" story, but it's only told from Emily's point of view. I'm sorry for not pointing this out, but it was actually intended on being told completely from her point of view because she is the character that I came up with. It is very possible that I will decide to temporarily take on a different character's point of view later on in the series for a little while to see how that works - but it'll only be temporary because this is supposed to be a story told from Emily's point of view.**

**Again, like I have been talking about for a while, I would love to have you all submit some fan art to either my Tumblr, Twitter, or even Fanfiction page through a message so I can see what your interpretation of what Emily looks like. I was interested in seeing a picture that included her with another character (preferably Snape, Harry, George, Neville, etc.). Any of these pictures that have already been submitted can be viewed on both my Tumblr and Twitter pages. Thank you to anyone that has already participated - I love your drawings!**

**Tell me what you think of the chapter! :D**


	38. Trusting Severus Snape

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 38**

Dumbledore led the two of us over towards the chairs that sat in front of his desk. When I looked up at him, I half-expected him to be angry with us, but he wasn't at all. In fact, it's a very rare occasion that Dumbledore ever was angry, and it was never with us.

"I'm so sorry Professor," Harry apologized. "We didn't mean to -"

"It's quite all right Harry," Dumbledore said.

He sat us down on the chairs and then went back over to the stone basin and carried it over to the desk to set it down for us all to look at. However, when I looked at the basin again, it was back to the original silvery looking substance that it had been before.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"It's called a Pensieve," Dumbledore explained. "Sometimes, when your mind is filled, this particular object can be very useful - especially if you have a particularly bad memory like myself and you wish to take a look back."

"Oh..." I said. "So...are those your thoughts?"

Dumbledore glanced back down to the silvery liquid that floated around in the basin with a small smile.

"Yes, they are," Dumbledore said. "And I believe I have a new one to add..."

He held his wand up to his head and pulled out a silver looking string-like substance from his head and placed it into the basin without hesitation. As soon as it connected with the basin, the image of Harry and me floated around and flashed around a series of events that included the forest and Snape.

That's when what I has seen moments ago suddenly hit me again. The truth that I didn't want to know about Snape. I looked up at Dumbledore in curiosity, wondering if he would tell me why he had chosen to trust Snape enough to have him on our side instead of Voldemort's. What had changed Snape's mind that made him want to switch? Was it the realization that they were going to lose or was it something entirely different?

"Curiosity isn't a sin you too," Dumbledore said. "But you should practice it with caution. Now, I do believe that you both had something to tell me before we get lost in my thoughts."

Suddenly I remembered the reason that we came in here. I had completely forgotten up to this point because of everything that we had just discovered.

"It's about something that happened in Divination today," I said. "The two of us...well, we fell asleep..."

"Understandable," Dumbledore nodded.

"Well, we both had this dream - the same one that we've both been having for a long time," Harry continued where I left off.

"It involved Wormtail - you do know who that is, right?" I asked and he nodded so I could continue. "We were looking in through a window and he was talking to...we strongly believe that it's Voldemort."

"We don't actually see him because he's hidden behind the chair that he's sitting in," Harry explained. "We can hear his voice though."

Dumbledore nodded, but made no interruptions as he urged as to continue on without actually speaking.

"Voldemort received a letter of some sort while we were watching," I said. "He said that Wormtail's blunder had been fixed and that someone was dead."

"There weren't any names mentioned," Harry said. "So we don't actually know who they were talking about."

"Then that snake came around and Voldemort told it that he wouldn't be eating Wormtail, but he was going to be fed us very soon," I said.

"Then he told Wormtail that he was going to be punished," Harry said. "When he began to torture him, both of our scars were burning really badly."

Once the story was over, Dumbledore remained silent and observant. It was as if he was expecting more to the story, but there was no more to tell.

"That's it..." Harry said quietly.

Dumbledore nodded and then began to pace around his office as soon as he stepped out of his chair. He looked like he was concentrating hard on something, like he was trying to fit together all of the pieces of a puzzle.

"Is that the only time that you two have experienced this - other than what happened during the summer?" Dumbledore asked.

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked.

"Both Sirius and Professor Snape have already informed me of what has been happening with you two," Dumbledore said casually.

"What do you think it means Professor?" I asked. "Is it real?"

"Well, I have a theory," he sat down. "I believe that the scars that you two have connect the three of you together in a way that I don't quite understand. Perhaps when Voldemort is near you or is feeling particularly emotional, the scars on your forehead begin to ache."

"Why?" Harry and I asked at once.

"Those aren't ordinary scars..." Dumbledore said quietly.

"Professor, do you think that he's getting more powerful?" Harry asked.

"There's reason to believe that," Dumbledore nodded. "This is how it started before - the disappearances...the very same..."

We both remained silent, still thinking about everything that we had seen from the dream combined with everyhing from Dumbledore's memories. There wasn't anything more to say, so we decided that it was best to end our meeting there. Harry walked out of the office, but I still needed to ask Dumbledore a few things in private, so I stood back and let Harry walk on and let him know that I would see him in a bit.

"Professor, can I speak with you for a minute longer?" I asked him.

He motioned towards the chair in front of his desk with a smile as the doors to his office closed and Harry was completely out of sight.

"Something is bothering you Emily," he said.

It wasn't a question - it was a statement. But I guess it didn't take much to know that we had a lot on my mind.

"Was it something from the dream?" he asked.

"Not exactly," I said slowly. "It's more of something that I heard in one of your memories..."

"What was said?" Dumbledore asked.

"It was about Professor Snape," I said. "You mentioned that he was...a Death Eater..."

"I see," Dumbledore said in understanding. "Severus Snape was a Death Eater for a while, but you know as well as I do that he has changed very much since then. I've heard tell that you've done your job defending him against your peers just about as much as I do with my peers."

"I've always said that he should be trusted because you trust him and that should be good enough for all of us," I said. "But...can I ask him shy you trust him?"

Dumbledore looked down at his desk and let out a great sigh and looked back up at me from behind those half-moon spectacles of his.

"I'm sorry to tell you that my reasoning is s matter between Professor Snape and myself," Dumbledore said. "But I assure you that it is a legitimate reasoning for trusting him...perhaps he'll even explain it to you himself one day..."

I nodded, still not understanding what the reasoning could possibly be. It didn't matter though, as long as I knew that there was a good reason for my defending of him for all these years.

"I may not be able to answer your question, but perhaps you could humor me in telling me your reasoning for putting your trust in Professor Snape."

Why did I trust Snape? Honestly, I had never actually even considered the reasons that I trusted him before - I just did.

"I guess..." I said slowly. "That it is because, even though he can come off as a cynical man, I can tell that there really is good in him - his intentions seem to be right even though his actions may not be the best way to handle the situations."

A smile slowly went across the old man's face as I finished saying my little thought. From the corner of his eyes, I could see a small tear roll down his cheek as he began to wipe it away.

"You remind me so much of someone else..." he said with a bright smile.

We stayed silent for a moment until Dumbledore suddenly realized something.

"I guess that you heard about Mr. Longbottom's family during that case," he said.

"I already knew what happened," I said. "Neville told me earlier this year..."

"I should have known," Dumbledore smiled. "I've noticed that the two of you are around each other quite often. Was your brother aware of the incident with Mr. Longbottom's parents before today?"

That was when I suddenly realized that Harry now knew about Neville's secret. I hope that he wouldn't say anything to anyone before I could warn him to stay quiet about it. Somehow, I doubt that he would tell anyone.

"No," I said. "No one else was told about it as far as I know."

"Could you make sure that this remains a secret between us," Dumbledore said seriously.

"I will," I said. "I know that Neville would do the same if it were me."

"I believe that you are right," he smiled. "I'm also a bit surprised with the two of you as well..."

I hope that he wasn't referring to those Rita Skeeter articles. Then again, I seriously doubted that he believed anything that the woman wrote because apparently she had come up with stories about him in the past.

"What?" I asked.

"Somehow, I used to believe that the two of you would be together," Dumbledore said.

"You mean that you thought we would end up dating one another?" I asked, feeling myself begin to blush.

"Precisely," Dumbledore nodded. "I do hope that you will excuse me, I must have embarrassed you."

"No, no, it's fine," I said.

I was slightly embarrassed though, I had never thought that even the teachers would develop thoughts such as these - like who we should or shouldn't be dating. Then again, I guess that it was a bit reasonable to believe this - Neville and I are best friends and we have been since our very first year.

"Well, perhaps you should try to find your brother now," Dumbledore said.

"Thank you Professor," I smiled.

He smiled back at me as I made my way through the door. It was odd how our conversation had gone. One moment we were talking about Dumbledore's memory involving Snape and the next thing I knew he was expressing his beliefs on my relationships. I guess that I would never truly understand Dumbledore...

As I was walking through the corridors towards the Gryffindor common room, I got lost in thought about everything that had happened in the day and ran directly into someone. I quickly lost my balance and began to fall, but was grabbed by my arm quickly so I could balance myself.

"Can you not watch where you are walking?" Draco sneered.

"Maybe if you weren't creeping around in the hallways I wouldn't have to," I retorted.

We stood there glaring at one another for a moment without saying another word.

"Thanks for not letting me fall," I finally said.

"Yeah, well," he shrugged. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"I was just talking to Dumbledore about something," I said. "What are you doing out here alone, what happened to the rest of your group?"

"I needed to get away for a minute," Draco said. "There incredibly stupid, in case you haven't notice."

"I would have never guessed that," I said sarcastically as I thought of Crabbe and Goyle - they really aren't the brightest.

"I heard about your fall in Divination," Draco said. "What was that about?"

"It was just a headache..." I lied.

"A headache?" Draco asked skeptically. "That both of you got at the same time? I'm not an idiot Emily."

"It's complicated," I said.

Just as Draco was about to ask more, I heard footsteps coming around the corner that stopped us from speaking. It was Snape. When he saw the two of us, he raised an eyebrow as he looked from one to the other.

"What is going on here?" he asked. "If a duel is about to start, I highly suggest that it stop now before someone gets hurt."

By the way that he was looking at Draco, I had a feeling that the person he thought would get hurt would not be me. Somehow, I took that as a compliment. It wasn't often that he believed a Gryffindor to be superior to anyone in his house.

"Why would we try to duel each other?" Draco asked. "We were just - "

He must have realized suddenly that he wasn't actually supposed to be friendly towards me because he quickly switched up his game.

"Next time watch where you're going Potter," he sneered and quickly walked past Snape.

I rolled my eyes just as he turned to wave quickly at me as he turned the corner. That boy has serious issues.

"Why?" Snape asked simply.

"I don't know," I muttered as I began to walk towards the tower once again.

Snape effortlessly caught up with my pace and before long, we were walking slowly through the corridors. I didn't know what to say to him after finding out about his past. But did him once belonging to Voldemort really change anything? Since I have known him, he's done nothing but try to help. Why should it be any different now that certain assumptions had been confirmed?

"What did you see during Divination?" he asked suddenly breaking my train of thought.

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"From what I've heard, you and your brother fell over today in class and were screaming," Snape said. "This isn't another rumor, is it?"

"Well...no," I said. "That's what I was just talking about with Dumbledore."

"I see," he nodded.

I didn't feel any need in explaining what I had seen because there wasn't a doubt in my mind that Dumbledore would explain everything to him later. That and I didn't really want to talk about it again, it's not exactly one of my favorite subjects.

We remained silent for a long time. I stayed lost in thought trying to figure out why Snape had a change of heart so many years ago that suddenly made him want to switch sides. All in wonder, I forgot that Snape was even walking with me and I began to go through each of the charms individually until I came across the one that was different from them all - it was a snake. I was almost positive that it had been Severus that had given this to my mother when the bracelet had been hers.

How could he have been that terrible if my mother had even spoken to him? Maybe that was why their friendship had broken off - he had become a Death Eater. He was a Death Eater. It was still hard to even think about. Severus Snape, the man that I have looked up to as a father for the past four years, had once been on the side of the man that murdered my real parents.

But Dumbledore had said that he had switched sides before he had lost power, so maybe he wasn't involved in their murder at all. Maybe he was completely innocent of that crime. Suddenly I realized what was bothering me more than anything was that I hadn't even gotten the least bit angry after finding out that he was a Death Eater. I just couldn't bring myself to even try to hate him.

"Are you all right?" Snape asked suddenly.

When my thoughts were interrupted, I realized that we were standing in front of the Fat Lady. How long had we been there?

"I'm fine," I said quietly.

Suddenly, before anything else could be said, I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. For a moment, he stood still, completely shocked with my abrupt action. Then he slowly put his arms around me and held me close to him just like I imagined a father would.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading - I'm sorry that it's a bit late and, in advance, I apologize if there are in errors in this chapter. I'm having exams this week, so I have a pile of work and studying to do. I tried my best to get this chapter in, I hope that you all can forgive me. Once the exams are all over, I should be able to keep updating about every other day.<strong>

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	39. Conversations with Neville

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 39**

"So...Dumbledore thinks that it was all real?" Neville asked on our way to breakfast the next morning.

"That's what he told us," I said.

"Well, you both saw the same thing, so I guess that it kind of makes sense..." Neville said. "But how?"

"Dumbledore seems to think that it has something to do with our scars," I said. "He mentioned something about it connecting us to him when he's feeling powerful or emotional."

Before we left the common room, I had told Neville everything that we had seen in our little dream in Divination. He seemed a bit shocked at first, but he also appeared to be incredibly confused about the whole thing. Then again, we all were so it wasn't much of a shock. The one thing that I happened to leave out of the discussion was the part that involved his parents - luckily I had made it to Harry before he had actually spoken to anyone. According to him, he had no intentions of revealing anything about Neville in the first place - he said that Neville would tell people when he was ready. I might bring it up sometime in the future, but it wasn't exactly something that I thought that he would want to talk about while we were in the Great Hall. It wasn't like anyone was actually listening to us, but I couldn't really trust anyone ever since we've been seeing some factual information tied into Rita Skeeter's articles. Not to mention the fact that there was an enormous looking beetle that had been staring at us since we sat down. I don't know what it was about it, but it gave me the creeps that wouldn't go away until the bug flew off into the far distance.

"Morning," George said later on in the morning as he came into the Great Hall.

"Good morning," I smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

"Where were you yesterday?" George asked. "I went looking around for a while and I couldn't find you."

"Oh, Harry and I were talking with Dumbledore about something," I said.

"I already knew about that," George said. "Harry mentioned something about that when I asked him where you were."

"I had a few questions that I wanted to ask him in private," I said. "We talked for a while and when I left, I ran into a couple of

people...literally."

"You ran into someone?" Neville laughed. "That seems more like something that I would end up doing - who was it?"

"Draco Malfoy," I said.

George scoffed and Neville snorted. Both of the boys turned around and glared over at the Slytherin table where Draco sat with his usual band of so-called friends. I wonder if they knew anything about the supposed relationship that I had with Draco. Then again, I hardly even understood the relationship that I had with that boy. It didn't really occur to me until then that I hadn't told anyone that Draco wished to be friends with me. Then again, I don't really think that I would given the circumstances. Draco was incredibly rude to all of my friends and my very own brother, so it was almost an expected thing that I hated his guts. I guess that it wouldn't be proper for me to even be associated with someone like him.

"Did you knock him over?" George asked.

"No, but he nearly knocked me over," I muttered.

"Do I need to go over there and beat him up," George said while attempting to flex his practically non-exsistant arm muscles.

"Funny," I laughed. "But no, he wasn't being rude and it was kind of my fault in the first place."

"Whenever Malfoy is involved," Neville said. "It is always his fault, don't ever think any differently."

I rolled my eyes and looked back over at Draco for a minute. Was he really that bad of a guy or was this just some old rivalry that would never die out? It was hard to say considering the fact that he had started it in the first place. There was no doubting that Draco could definitely be a total jerk when he wanted to be, but was he really all that bad? His parents could have really influenced him into becoming the arrogant snob that he was now - was that just an act though? Ever since he had gone behind his friend's backs to tell me that he really didn't hate me as much as he seemed like he did, I had really started to wonder about him as a person. Was the Draco that I saw behind everyone's backs the real one or was it the jerk that he acted like while everyone else was around. And why had he chosen me to show his true colors? It was all a confusing mess to be quite honest.

On our way back up to the common room, I decided to walk with George. We didn't go directly to the common room and made a detour around some of the other corridors that we knew would take more time to make it back up to the room.

"So, do you have any plans for the third task?" George asked as he grabbed ahold of my hand.

"The same one that I always have," I said nonchalantly

"And what exactly would that be?" George asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Trying not to get myself killed," I nodded.

"Well, that seems reasonable," he snorted.

We walked for a little ways before we decided to sit down on a nearby bench. We weren't entirely alone though because people were still walking through the hallways. Being that it was currently a free weekend, people didn't have all that much to do other than to roam around the school and do nothing.

"You are going to try to stay safe, aren't you?" he asked suddenly.

"No, I was actually planning on throwing myself at the first creature that jumped into my path," I said with total sarcasm.

"Emily, I'm serious," he said.

He really was being serious. In fact, I hadn't seen him this serious in a long time. I guess that it never occurred to me that my being in the tournament could really worry people. Maybe it was because I was too busy worrying about everything else to even consider what other people must actually think about this entire situation. To be honest, I'm not even entirely sure about what George thought about me being in the tournament. Other than asking how I had done it in the beginning, there really hadn't been all that much discussion on the matter.

"Of course I'll try to stay safe," I said. "Why would I purposely put myself in danger?"

"Because you're one of the Potter twins," George said. "That's what you two do all of the time."

"Yeah, because you're really one to talk about staying in line," I muttered. "You and Fred are worse than we are."

"That is not true," he said. "We have never gotten ourselves into life-threatening situations like you and Harry."

"It's not like we do this on purpose!" I said helplessly. "It's like trouble is looking for us!"

"Just try to keep yourself safe," George said quickly before I could say anymore.

"I will - I already said that," I said. "Stop being so touchy!"

"I'm not being touchy," he pouted. "I just don't want you to get hurt..."

I smiled and gave him a small kiss. He was worried and I know that I would be the same way if it was him that was in my shoes.

"I love you Emily," he whispered.

"I love you too," I smiled. "Just try not to worry too much, I'm sure that everything will be fine."

We leaned in to kiss again just as someone walked by and shockingly enough interrupted us. But, unusually enough, it wasn't Harry or Snape - this time it was Neville.

"Hey, have either of you - oh, sorry," he said awkwardly towards the end.

"What is it Neville?" I asked while looking over at George still.

I don't think that George was mad, probably because we were interrupted so regularly that it hardly came as a surprise anymore and we just sort of accepted it.

"It's nothing important," he said still looking a bit awkward.

"No, it's fine," I said as I stood up. "I'll see you in a bit George."

"See you babe," he said and kissed me on the cheek before heading off to do whatever he did.

Neville still seemed to be eyeing me a bit strangely and I wanted to laugh at how awkward he was making the entire situation. I don't think he realizes just how often we were interrupted and he didn't have to be all embarrassed about it.

"So what's up?" I asked as we began to walk.

"It was just that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were looking for you," he said. "They wanted me to drag you to them for practice for the third task."

"They wanted you to drag me there?" I laughed.

"They knew that you were with George," Neville nodded. "And I think that making sure your boyfriend doesn't get what he wants comes naturally to Harry."

"Is he my brother or my father?" I laughed. "Sometimes I get confused."

"Well, you are his sister, he's just being overprotective," Neville said. "Don't get too mad at him - sorry about interrupting the two of you anyway."

"It isn't like it's never happened before," I shrugged it off.

We walked for a little ways before I got to thinking about what we had seen in Dumbledore's office about Neville's parents. He had the right to know that Harry knew about them and I couldn't think of a better time to tell him about that than right now when there weren't any people around.

"Neville...I didn't tell you everything that happened in Dumbledore's office the other day," I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well...I left out some of the memory that I was telling you about..." I said slowly.

"You mean the one where Karkaroff was being convicted?" he asked.

"Well...sort of," I mumbled. "There was a memory after that...there were four people being convicted..."

"Really?" he asked. "What for?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about..." I said. "They were being convicted for...doing what they did to your parents..."

There was a moment of silence where Neville simply just stared ahead and started to walk slower than he had been before. With a single gulp, I knew that he understood what exactly I was trying to tell him. Not only did I see the people that had completely messed his life up, but someone else now knew about what had happened to Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom so many years ago.

"So...Harry knows then..." he said in a hollow voice.

"He won't tell anyone, I told him not to..." I said.

We continued to walk slowly through the hall for a little while longer before he spoke up again.

"Was...was she there?" he asked suddenly.

"Who?" I asked.

"Bellatrix Lestrange...?" he choked.

I thought back to all of the people that I had seen that were convicted. I clearly remembered the one dark haired, pale skinned woman that had walked through the courtroom like she owned the place. She had been proud of what she had done, she showed no remorse at all. In fact, it seemed like she wanted more than anything to tell Voldemort himself of this dark deed that she had done. That had to have been who Neville was talking about.

"I didn't know what her name was, but I know who you're talking about..." I said. "Was she the one that...you know...?"

"Yes," he said in the hollow voice that he had been using. "She was the one that personally tortured them both for information. Gran told me that she had enjoyed every minute of it too..."

The horrified and saddened look on my friend's face made me want to burst out into tears, but I wouldn't do that to him. I had already depressed him enough by even mentioning the subject at all, but he had the right to know that Harry knew what had happened. This woman that he spoke of made me want to find her cell in Azkaban so I could personally see the pathetic person that she was now. I hoped that she was rotting in that cell. I hoped that the dementor's were torturing her every minute that she was alive so that she could feel even a fraction of the pain that Neville had to feel every day because of what she had done.

"I visit them sometimes..." Neville said hopelessly. "They are in St. Mungo's - you know, the hospital...Gran takes me there during the holidays..."

I nodded slowly, not really knowing what to say. It was a really tough situation to hear about and I didn't know what I could possibly do to help him. He had told me before that neither of his parents knew who he was because of the torture that they had gone through because of the Death Eaters. It was difficult to not have any parents because they had died, but I imagined that it would be even worse to have parents that were living and had no idea who you are. In a sense, I was the lucky one.

"Are you going to go see them again soon?" I asked quietly.

"During the summer holidays," he said while looking at the ground. "Maybe you could...nevermind..."

"What?" I asked.

"I was going to say that you could come and meet them if you wanted to..." he murmured.

"I would love to meet your parents Neville," I said.

"But...you have to understand..." he said quietly. "They...they don't have their minds...they're...they aren't really there Emily..."

I was trying to stay calm for Neville's dame, but I felt my eyes begin to water and I tried my hardest to look away from him so he wouldn't see me. It was hard enough having to deal with this in his very own life on a daily basis, but I couldn't help myself from letting a couple of tears fall down. I hated seeing Neville so miserable and knowing that there wasn't anything that could be done to change it.

"I want to meet them," I whispered so he wouldn't hear my voice breaking.

"Thank you..." he said after a moment.

After what seemed like hours, but was really only minutes, we made it into Professor McGonagall's room where Harry was already practicing with some cushions that were nearby. Hermione was standing in the corner of the room with a large textbook in hand and only looked up for a minute when we stepped into the door. However, it must have been obvious that I had been crying because she did a double take when she saw me.

"Emily - are you okay?" she asked in a panicked voice.

"I'm fine," I said quickly and tried to cover my face from sight.

"Have you been-?" she started.

"I'm fine!" I shouted.

I walked to the opposite side of the room and tried not to look back at Neville who I knew had his eyes trained on me. Of course, I should have known that people were going to notice that my face was all red and my eyes a bit puffy. I might have even gotten away with it if Hermione could have kept her big mouth shut.

For the next few hours or so, we all practiced different sorts of charms that could be very useful while we were in the maze. The one that I felt would be the best one was charm that acted as a compass and pointed the wand in the north so that we would know what direction. I felt that it would be the most useful while we made our way through the maze.

After what felt like forever, we finally decided that we had been through enough practice for the day and then we went down to the Great Hall for dinner. When we got there, George was waiting at the table with a stern look on his face.

Was he angry with something?

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I know that it wasn't as long as usual, but I felt that it wasn't too bad...well, I guess that's for you to decide!<strong>

**What do you think George is angry with? Have any guesses? Tell me what you think it is and you'll find out with the next chapter!**

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	40. Jealousy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 40**

As I got closer to the Gryffindor table, George's expression didn't change at all. He looked stern and it was really bothering me. Was he angry with me or was it something else? Judging by the way that he was staring towards me gave me the impression that it was something that I had done.

"Are you okay?" I asked him skeptically.

"I'm fine," he said in a blunt manner.

"No you aren't," I said. "Just look at you - you look like you're ready to kill someone."

"Not yet I'm not…" he muttered.

This was now making me angry. If he was so mad about something, why couldn't he just tell me what was bothering him? Was it really that big of a deal?

"Am I going to have to pry this out of you?" I asked seriously.

He didn't answer and looked down at his plate without changing his face expression at all. I looked over at everyone else who had already taken their seats to see if they knew what was going on. They all looked as confused as I did.

"Fine, let's talk," George said after a moment. "Not here though - go in the hallway."

I raised an eyebrow, but willingly went out into the hallway so that we could talk. There was no way that I was just going to just let him be angry and not tell me what was bothering him. Once we made it into the hallway, he looked around to see if anyone was there before he turned to me.

"What's your problem?" I asked.

"Well, let's think for a moment Emily," George said while putting his hand up to his chin as though he were thinking. "Do you have anything that you wish to share with me?"

I looked off to the side in complete confusion, but he looked at me as if he was accusing me of some kind of crime that I wasn't confessing to.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Just spit it out, I'm not in the mood for the guessing game George."

"You're spending too much time around Longbottom," he said bluntly.

"Wait - what?" I asked in complete shock and confusion.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he said.

"No, I really don't," I said.

He glared at me and then back towards the Great Hall where people were making a ton of noise. I could not believe that this was what he was angry about. What did Neville have to do with anything?

"Everyone has been talking about it," George said. "They are talking about me like I'm some sort of doormat that just lets any guy go off with my girlfriend."

"It's Neville," I said. "He's my _friend_! You know that as well as I do!"

"Well, I don't think that _he_ knows that," he snarled.

"Wait a minute - what did you say before?" I asked, just realizing something. "Everyone's talking about it - what does that mean? When did you start listening to the gossip of the school? I thought that you knew when people were making things up!"

"What they are saying makes sense Emily," he said sternly. "Neville has a thing for you and I'm not just going to let him think that he can get away with it."

"Where are you even getting this idea?" I asked.

"As I said, everyone has been talking about it!" George said. "I didn't listen to them at first, but as time went on I started to notice that they were right about some things."

"Like what?" I asked irritably.

"Well, for starters, you tend to brush me off so easily whenever Neville comes into the picture," he said as he held up his fingers to count the reasons. "Neville doesn't speak to _anyone_ the way that he does with you and isn't it convenient that he consistently tries to pull you away from me-?"

"What?" I interrupted. "He helped get us together in the first place! And he isn't the only one that is constantly pulling us away from each other, in case you haven't noticed!"

"Who else does that?" he asked accusingly. "Harry? He's your brother!"

"What does this even matter - you know that I don't like Neville like that!" I shouted. "He's just a friend and you _know that_!"

"Again - he doesn't know that - open your eyes!" George shouted back. "And I don't want you around him anymore!"

"You _cannot_ tell me what to do George Weasley!" I snarled. "I will _not_ be ordered around like a child!"

George opened his mouth to say something else, but was stopped immediately when he looked behind me at someone that I couldn't see. However, it didn't take much guessing when I heard the familiar drone of a voice coming from him.

"What is going on here?"

I turned around and stood next to George so that I could face Snape, who now stood in front of me. He had his arms folded over his torso and was glaring down at George who looked mildly irritated and terrified all at once. The only noise that we heard for a minute was the loud chatter from the people in the Great Hall who were all oblivious to what was happening with us.

"Nothing sir," George said with anger in his tone.

Snape raised an eyebrow at his tone and then his eyes flickered towards me for a moment. Apparently registering the irritation from us both, not to mention the fact that he probably heard the argument that we were just having, he knew that we were fighting.

"Don't mock my intelligence Mr. Weasley," Snape said threateningly.

"I'm not sir," George said quickly. "It's just not really your business what is going on here."

If I could have given myself a palm to the face, I would have. The saying that looks could kill was running through my mind with a small glance towards Snape's face.

"It's not any of my business…" Snape nodded, obviously not agreeing with what he was saying. "As it appears, Mr. Weasley, you do not have the authority to decided what is my business or not. However, if you do wish to keep what is going on between yourself and Miss Potter, I suggest that you don't go off yelling at one another in a hallway where everyone can hear you."

With each word that Snape used in that slow, threatening tone of his, I could almost see George shrinking beside me. Although George did have a point at first - it really wasn't Snape's business - Snape had a point as well.

"Let's get one thing clear Mr. Weasley," Snape lowered his voice. "If I catch you yelling at Miss Potter one more time, I assure you that you will regret it - understood?""Is that a threat?" George asked shakily.

"Not if it doesn't happen again," Snape said.

There was another moment of silence between us all. I could hardly believe that Snape was threatening George right now. I wonder how much he had heard. It was a little strange that he wasn't yelling at me as well because I had been yelling too.

"Now, I suggest that you leave the corridor now and return to the Great Hall with the rest of the students," Snape said threateningly to George.

Just as we were both going towards the Great Hall, Snape put his arm in front of me so that I couldn't move forward. Apparently he wasn't finished talking to me just yet. We stood there for a moment and waited until George was out of ear shot before anything was said.

"Why?" Snape asked simply.

I sighed and then leaned up against the wall that stood behind me. This was a complete mess. I guess there wasn't any harm in telling him what was going on though. I'm sure that he'd hear about it somehow anyways. It was strange, but he always seemed to know what was going on in the castle.

"George is jealous of Neville," I said.

"Longbottom?" Snape asked.

"Do you know of another Neville?" I asked.

"Why does he feel the need to yell at you for it then?"

"He doesn't want me talking to Neville anymore because he thinks that Neville thinks of me as more than a friend," I explained.

"It's not that far fetched Emily," Snape said.

"What?" I asked surprised.

"The boy is constantly around you," Snape said. "He follows you around like a lost puppy. I wouldn't be shocked in the slightest if Longbottom thought of you as more than a friend."

"You've got to be joking - we are just friends!" I said. "We've been friends since first year! If he thought of me like that, wouldn't he have said something before now?"

"I don't know, would he?" Snape said as he began to pace in front of me. "He's not exactly the most…outgoing person, is he?"

"Well…no," I said. "But that doesn't mean anything! Why would he have set me up with George then?"

"Why are you asking me?" Snape asked. "Maybe you should be asking him all of this."

"This is ridiculous," I scoffed.

Then, without another word, I walked back into the Great Hall and grabbed onto Hermione's arm and proceeded to pull her away from everyone else. I did my best not to look around in case George was sitting nearby, but he wasn't. I would just go on and assume that he was with his other friends because he was angry with me.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked as she let me drag her out of the Great Hall.

"I need to talk with you," I told her. "In the common room. Now."

We didn't say anything further until we went passed the Fat Lady and we were seated around the unlit fire in the common room. She looked extremely confused, but I filled her in quickly with everything that had just happened.

"I hate to tell you this Emily, but Snape does have a point," Hermione said.

My jaw dropped. I expected her to side with me - not someone else! What was everyone's deal? I had enough to worry about with the third task around the corner. Why did there have to be so much drama _now_?

"But wait - I think that you're right too," she said quickly. "I don't think that Neville is trying to start any kind of competition with George. If he really wanted to be with you, he could have said something years ago. Then again, he was a lot younger then, but that's not the point."

"So…do you think that George has a right to be mad at me?" I asked her.

"Well, I can see where his anger is coming from," she said reasonably. "But at the same time, this is so out of nowhere. I don't understand where he got this idea from. You and Neville have always been around each other, but it's never been more than a friendship."

I sat back in my chair and sighed. What was I going to do? I really didn't want George to be mad at me, but I wasn't going to just stop talking to my best friend because he was jealous. I just think that George has the wrong idea and needs to be set straight. But how?

"What should I do?" I sighed.

"Maybe you should get them both together to talk," Hermione said. "But you should probably talk with Neville first."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, he would probably feel attacked if you just sprung all of this on him with George standing right there."

"That's true…"

So that's what I decided to do. I needed to have a talk with both of them so that we could settle everything out. That way, there would be peace once again and I wouldn't have to freak out about them as well as the third task that I should be preparing for at the moment.

The first thing that I decided to do was to seek out Neville so I could tell him what all was going on. Then, together, we could go find George so that we could all talk about what the deal was so that it could all be worked out. Luckily enough, the opportunity arose later when I found Neville in the common room later that evening looking through a book on plants. Typical.

"Hey Neville - can we talk about something?" I asked as I sat down in the chair next to him.

"Sure, what's up?" he asked as he placed a marker in his book.

"Well, it's about George actually," I explained.

"Is he all right?" Neville asked. "He seemed a bit off today."

"Not exactly…" I said. "He's really mad actually and we got into a fight."

"About what?" he asked.

"Well…you…" I said.

Neville's face fell and he looked extremely confused. Naturally, he would have expected the fight to be about anything aside from himself. Which, in my own opinion, was actually pretty logical considering that this fight was ridiculous in the first place.

"Me?" Neville asked in shock.

"George thinks that you have feelings for me," I said. "And it's making him kind of jealous…really jealous actually…"

"What gave him that idea?" Neville asked.

"Apparently a lot of people have that idea," I said. "He said that he's been listening around and a lot of people have been saying that you and I have a thing."

"I thought that George was smarter than that…" Neville muttered.

"Apparently not," I laughed. "Why would you have those kinds of feelings for me - we've been friends for a long time."

"Well…" Neville said with a small blush. "I…never mind…"

"What?" I asked.

"I did like you like that when we were younger…" he said quietly. "I had an enormous crush on you actually."

"Really?" I asked him.

"But don't worry - it's not like that anymore," Neville said. "Don't get me wrong - I love you - but I know that George is the guy for you."

Why hadn't he said anything before now? I guess that it had just been something that had happened years ago and didn't really matter. But did it really change anything that he had really liked me when we were younger? I guess that it shouldn't really matter now. Neville obviously doesn't think of me like that anymore.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Neville asked. "I don't want something as stupid as this to get in your way."

"Actually, that's what I was going to ask you," I said. "I was hoping that we could all have a talk."

"That would work…" Neville nodded. "So where's George?"

"Wait - you want to do this right now?" I asked.

"Sure, why not?" he asked. "Did you have a better time to tell him?"

"No, no," I said. "Let's go then."

Well, that was simple enough. Now, the difficult part was finding George. I hadn't seen him since our fight, so it would probably take a bit of searching and asking around to find out where he was. We decided that we would ask around the common room to see if anyone had seen him. I asked a few people quickly if they had seen him, but there hadn't been any results so far.

"Do you have any idea where George is?" I asked Lee.

"Actually, I did see him a while ago," Lee nodded. "We were walking in the hall, but Snape stopped us. Apparently he wanted to have a word with him. I have a bet going on right now that he's been murdered."

"Don't say that!" I said.

Quickly, realizing what was happening, Neville and I quickly left the common room and walked quickly down towards Snape's office.

"Why would Snape want to talk to George?" Neville asked as we turned another corner.

"He caught us fighting and he seemed a bit annoyed that George had been yelling," I said. "He sort of threatened him afterwards."

"So, in other words, if we find the corps of George Weasley, then don't be shocked?" he asked in a bit of a panicked tone.

"Snape isn't going to kill him!" I said. "Then again…no, he wouldn't…but he might…just hurry!"

Just as we were turning the next corner, we nearly ran over someone that was coming from the opposite direction. I was about to apologize and keep going, but I found that it was the person that we were looking for.

"George!" I said. "I heard that Snape wanted to talk to you - what did he want?"

"He just wanted a quick word," he said. "That's all."

Just then I remembered what we were here for and turned to Neville. He nodded and was about to start his speech about how he wasn't trying to get with me or anything like that, but George cut him off.

"I already know," George said.

"You do?" Neville asked in relief.

"Yeah," George nodded.

I looked from George to Neville in complete confusion. They were just standing there like George hadn't been two seconds from ripping his throat out this very morning.

"What did Snape say?" I asked in sudden realization.

"Actually, he didn't want me to tell anyone," George nodded. "You see, we're buddy-buddy now."

"You're joking?" I asked with a laugh.

"Oh definitely," George snorted. "He still hates me…he needs to lay off with the death threats, it's starting to bother me."

"So you aren't mad anymore?" I asked.

"No," he sighed. "I was being really stupid and I'm sorry - both of you. I don't know why I listen to what people say around here."

"You are really stupid," I nodded.

"Shut it Potter," George laughed.

He leaned in and kissed me. It felt good that he wasn't mad at me anymore and everything would go back to normal. He held onto me for a moment or two before we stopped when we heard a crashing noise only a few feet away from us.

"Sorry - sorry," Neville said in a hush. "I'll just be going - ignore me…"

He was red in the face and he continued to back away around the corner. Once he was out of sight, both of us started laughing.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I know that this chapter was completely filled with drama that never existed in the book and doesn't go along with the plot at all, but I just felt like going off and being random. I hope that you didn't hate it too much! If you didn't care for this chapter that much, then don't worry because the next chapter is going to have the third task in it, so there is going to be a lot of action!<strong>

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	41. Ready for the Maze?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 41**

The morning of the third task started off just as expected - with total chaos. The Great Hall was filled with loud, excited students that were all talking about who they thought the winner would be and what they thought would be inside of the maze. However, the only thing that was on my mind, as well as Harry's, was the article that was just posted about us by Rita Skeeter.

When the mail came in this morning, Hoot came down towards our table with the new issue of the _Daily Prophet_ - I let Hermione use him for a little while since he hadn't been getting much exercise recently. Once the paper had been delivered, Hermione was quick to hide it from view.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"Oh, nothing…" she said quietly, probably trying to keep everyone's attention off of her.

"It's about us, isn't it Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Rita Skeeter, I expect," I said.

Just as Ron took the article away from Hermione and started to read it for himself, I sort of got the idea on what the article was about as a result of the jeers that were coming from the Slytherin table. Naturally, they had to make some sort of comment about us.

"How's your head Potter?" Pansy yelled over to me.

"Not going to go all berserk on us, are you Potter?" Draco sniggered towards Harry.

"Give me the article," Harry said as he ripped it from Ron's grasp.

I scooted closer towards him to get a closer look at what Rita Skeeter had written about this time.

_THE POTTER TWINS - "DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS"_

_The twins that defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence has recently come to light about the Potter's strange behavior, which casts doubts upon their suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend Hogwarts School._

_Harry and Emily Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, regularly collapse at school, and they are often heard to complain of pain in the scars on their forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill them). On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter witnessed the two Potters storming from their class, claiming that their scars were hurting too badly to continue studying._

_It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that the Potters' brains were affected by the attack inflicted upon them by You-Know-Who, and that their insistence that the scars are still hurting is an expression of their deep-seated confusion._

_"They might even be pretending," said one specialist. "This could be a plea for attention."_

_The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed worrying facts about Harry and Emily Potter that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public._

_"Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Draco Malfoy, a Hogwarts fourth year. "There were a lot of attacks on students a couple of years ago, and most people thought Potter was behind them after they saw him lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends with werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do anything for a bit of power."_

_Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other than You-Know-Who himself._

_His twin sister is also reported to have the same sort of ability._

"_I personally thought that it was her that was attacking everyone in our third year," Pansy Parkinson, a fellow Hogwarts student revealed. "She incredibly weird, everyone agrees and we all know that her and her brother are both out to just get some attention - as if they don't get enough already. Everyone is sort of tired of hearing about them to be honest."_

_A member of the Dark Force Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard who could speak Parseltongue "as worthy of investigation."_

"_Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evildoers." Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence."_

_Also, according to recent reports, Emily Potter still has yet to put an end to her love interests around the school. Just recently, Emily was spotted walking the halls with fellow Gryffindor Neville Longbottom. After a small stroll through the halls, it was reported that young Emily was brought to tears towards the end of their conversation._

"_Maybe she finally feels guilty for using Longbottom," Pansy Parkinson reveals. "After all, she's been dragging him along since first year. It's almost pathetic to watch - the poor guy doesn't stand a chance."_

_So, could this be what the young girl was so distraught about? Perhaps her years of going behind her boyfriend George Weasley's back are now behind her. It's difficult to say at this point._

_Albus Dumbledore should surely consider whether a boy and girl such as these two should be allowed to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that the Potter twins might resort to the Dark Arts in their desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place this evening._

"What is with her constantly bringing my love life into this?" I asked, bewildered.

"Obviously she's running out of material," Neville shrugged.

"Wait - were you really crying?" George asked.

"N-no, I probably had something in my eye…" I lied.

It didn't really seem necessary that I tell him about all of that. Not to mention that if I actually did tell him why I was crying then I would have to explain about Neville's parents and I wasn't going to do that to him. Neville, who seemed to recognize this, gave me a small smile before anyone else said anything else.

Not long after we set down the article, Professor McGongall came over to our table to tell us something.

"The champions are meeting in the chamber off the hall after breakfast," she told us.

Harry dropped his utensils into his plate and his face suddenly grew pale. I realized that I must have looked just as shocked as all of the blood drained from my face.

"But, the tournament isn't until tonight," Harry said in a hallow voice.

"I am aware of that Potter," McGonagall said sounding annoyed. "But the families of the champions are meeting there and this would be the time that you would greet them."

Before we could say anything else, McGonagall walked away from us and joined her fellow teachers up at their table at the end of the hall. Without saying a word, Harry and I looked at each other with complete surprise and confusion.

"You don't think?" I asked him.

"That the Dursley's are here?" Harry asked. "I was thinking about that, maybe she just expects them to show up."

"I'll be so disappointed if they don't," I said with heavy sarcasm.

"It will break my heart," Harry laughed.

As the bell rang to signal the start of the school day, everyone else rushed off to their first class. Ron and Hermione, who both still had to go to class, had to go off to take their History of Magic exam, something that we had been exempt from because of the Tournament - which made this the only time that I was happy to be in the tournament.

Once the room cleared, we were left alone with the three other champions who seemed to be happy, aside from Viktor, to be able to meet with their families. When all of the other champions went off into the side chamber to see their families, Harry and I decided that we would stay back.

"It's not like the Dursleys are showing up anyway," Harry shrugged as he sat on one of the tables.

"To be honest, I'm happy that they aren't coming here," I muttered. "It's bad enough that we have to live with them all summer."

It was true, I didn't want them there and I knew that Harry didn't either. Every summer they made our lives a living hell. I didn't want them to show up at the one place that I actually enjoyed living in - it would ruin everything. Besides, they wouldn't want to see us anyway. It was hard to even begin to imagine them in Hogwarts - they hated anything that had to do with magic.

We could here them all talking amongst themselves in the other room, all of them happy to see their families. However, I was surprised when Cedric stuck his head out of the door and motioned for us to come along with him.

"They are waiting for you two," he smiled.

Harry and I looked at one another in confusion. Was it possible that the Dursleys had shown up after all? Slowly and hesitantly, we both walked into the room with everyone else. Across the room, I saw the familiar faces of Viktor's parents along with Vector who were all speaking in what I assumed to be Bulgarian. On the other end, Fleur was talking in French to her mother and sister Gabrielle, who smiled when she saw Harry and I come in.

Then, surprisingly enough, we found, not the Dursleys, but Mrs. Weasley and Bill smiling at us next to Cedric's father. Well, that's not something I expected.

"Surprise!" Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"We thought that we would come and watch the two of you compete," Bill smirked at us.

"Charlie would have joined us, but he couldn't get off work," Mrs. Weasley explained. "He said that the two of you did wonderfully with the dragons. To be honest, I thought that the school was a bit mad to have children compete against dragons! You could have gotten killed!"

"It was really nice of you all to come," Harry said. "We really appreciate it."

"We were happy to come and see you Harry," she smiled.

Bill suddenly nudged her and the side and Mrs. Weasley shot a look his way that didn't look very pleasant.

"…and Emily…" she muttered.

I raised an eyebrow at them and Bill waved his hand as if to brush it off. What was going on? Was Mrs. Weasley angry with me? What did I do?

Just then, Mrs. Weasley decided that she would go over and talk to Dumbledore about something. While she was over there, I couldn't help but notice that she continuously shot these angry faces at me. Seriously, I had no idea what was going on.

"Bill - is your mum all right?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," he said nervously. "I tried to tell her that none of it was true…"

"None of what was true?" I asked him. "Wait - you aren't talking about those articles, are you?"

"The ones that Rita Skeeter is writing?" Bill asked. "Those are the ones. Mum has been reading all of them and she isn't too happy about it either. Probably has something to do with her belief that you're running around on her son."

"She actually believes all that rubbish?" I said in disbelief. "I thought that she was smarter than that!"

"I did too," he said. "I don't even know you all that well, but I knew that the woman was lying. I think that she's just taking it personally because George hasn't dated anyone before and she is incredibly protective. You should have seen her around some of the girls that I talked to…"

"I thought that she liked me…" I mumbled.

"She does," Bill assured me. "But she's just being a mother - she'll come around soon enough, don't worry."

We stopped talking for a minute and then I noticed that I wasn't the only one getting the stink eye. Mr. Diggory was now in a full chat with Harry about something that didn't sound all that inviting. When I listened in, I understood why.

"Not so full of yourself now that Cedric has caught up with you, are you?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Don't listen to him," Cedric said, looking completely embarrassed. "He's been angry ever since Rita Skeeter made you and Emily out to be the only Hogwarts champions…"

"Neither of you bothered to correct her, did you?" he said looking from Harry to me. "That's okay Ced, you can beat them, it'll be easy."

Apparently Mrs. Weasley caught up with that last bit of the conversation as she returned to our little group. She looked angry and started scolding Mr. Diggory at once.

"I thought that you of all people would know when to believe something that Rita Skeeter writes," Mrs. Weasley said. "Working at the Ministry, I would have thought you would have known this by now!"

"I agree Mum," Bill said while shooting her a look. "People should know by now that Rita Skeeter lies about _everything_."

Bill looked over to me and then back to his mother. Mrs. Weasley went a little red and the face and started nodding and looked a bit ashamed.

After that, things went along much better between Mrs. Weasley and me. In fact, we actually spent the rest of the day - we meaning Harry, Bill, Mrs. Weasley, and me - walking around the grounds of the school talking about everything that had been going on since we had last seen them.

However, the time drew nearer to when the third task came and we had to return to the castle to prepare to go out onto the field. Just before everyone went out onto the field, the school provided us with a large evening feast in celebration of the event.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Dumbledore called over the crowd to silence everyone. "In five minutes, I will ask everyone to head out to the Quidditch field to watch the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. I ask that the champions now follow Mr. Bagman at this time to go out to the field."

Everyone went silent as we stood up to walk out. Before we left, the people around us sent us their luck and before we knew it we were already standing in front of the maze and the people were filling the stands behind us.

"Think that we can do this Emily?" Harry asked me nervously as we watched the stands.

"I hope so…" I murmured.

Soon enough the people in the stands were cheering and making all sorts of other noises that nearly deafened me. It all felt unreal - like I was in some sort of dream world, but it wasn't something that I wanted. It was just so hard to believe that we had made it here. I didn't want to be here though, that was the thing. I just hoped that this would all end soon…

Just before the third task started, Professor McGongall rounded up all of the champions so she could give us some last minute instruction before we went into the maze.

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," she told us. "If you run into any trouble that you cannot handle, just send some red sparks into the air and you will be rescued, understand?"

We all nodded and Professor McGonagall sent the signal to Ludo Bagman that everything was ready and that he could announce the start.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place are Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!"

The stands burst into cheers from where the Hogwarts students all cheered on their champions - all except Slytherin who seemed to favor Viktor Krum.

"In second place comes Miss Emily Potter from Hogwarts!" he continued as the crowds cheered. "In third place - Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in fourth place - Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

I looked out into the crowd and found the group that were cheering the loudest for Harry and me. Amongst them sat George, Ron, Hermione, Bill, Mrs. Weasley, Fred, and Neville. I also caught the glances of Snape and Draco as my name was called, much to my own surprise. I even made out the words "good luck" coming from Snape's mouth, but I also noticed the worried look that he had on his face the entire time.

"So, first to go into the maze will be Harry and Cedric - get ready on my whistle," Bagman continued.

Harry and I shared a glance for a moment and I grabbed onto his hand before he walked too far and gave him a small smile.

"Good luck Harry," I said. "Be careful."

"You too," he said sounding nervous.

We nodded at each other and he continued to walk closer towards the maze as he prepared for the whistle to blow just as Cedric was doing. They both looked like they were ready to sprint into the maze just before the whistle signaled.

Once the signal went off, Cedric and Harry ran into the hedges and were off. I caught one last look from Harry as the hedges closed off to hide him from view. He gave me a simple wave before he disappeared from my sight.

"Now, get ready Miss Potter - you're next," Bagman said happily.

"Right…" I mumbled.

I walked up to the hedge and tried to mentally prepare myself for what was inside of the maze. Had Harry run into anything yet? I didn't see any red sparks, so I'm sure he was fine for now…I worry far too much…

When the whistle blew, I heard the last of the cheering crowd as I ran into the maze and became covered in the darkness that was inside. I looked back for one moment and saw Dumbledore watching me under his half-moon spectacles. The last thing I saw was a gentle smile and a wink before the hedges closed behind me.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! I'm <strong>_**really**_** sorry that I didn't include the third task, but I PROMISE that it will be in the next one. I might even include some of the graveyard scene as well, so I hope that you all can forgive me!**

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	42. Obstacles of the Third Task

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 42**

I turned back around and looked around at the hedges that were surrounding me. It was difficult to see anything around me at first because of how dark it was, but eventually my eyes adjusted. As I began to move forward, I felt a small breeze blow around me and I pulled out my wand to use that compass trick that Hermione had taught me.

"Point me," I said.

The wand spun around in my hand and I looked forward to see where I could go given the location that my wand was showing. The cup was sitting in the northwest corner of the maze, so I decided that I could probably start going left considering where I had come through.

It was only a few moments later when I heard rapid footsteps coming towards me along the sudden feeling of warmth as I saw a light coming around the corner. Suddenly, Cedric came sprinting around the corner and my eyes widened as several fully grown Blast-Ended Shrewts were chasing after him. They looked nothing like the ones that we saw in class - these were about five or six times the size with heavy duty black armor all around its body that looked like it was up in flames.

"RUN!" he shouted as he pointing frantically ahead of himself.

He didn't have to ask me twice. I began to sprint along, only keeping myself a short distance in front of Cedric who was starting to gain on me. I knew that, at this rate, the enormous shrewts were bound to catch up to us. I turned around only a second and saw three of them that were only a few feet away from our feet.

Suddenly, one from around another corner shot its tail at both of us and burned us both in the legs. The burning made me want to stop running because of the pain, but I knew that if I did then it wouldn't help at all - the other ones would get both of us.

"What are we going to do?" Cedric shouted in a panicked voice.

Think - what spell could we use to get them away from us? I turned around and watched as they shot fire from their tails and the answer flew into my head instantly.

"Aguamenti!" I shouted at them.

Water flew at them through my wand and hit one of them. As soon as the water connected with it, the shrewt let out a small screech and stopped chasing us. Cedric took note of my action and we both started shooting all of them with water as we kept running through the maze. Soon enough, the last one was blasted away with water by Cedric and we started to slow down and came to a stop.

"Well, that was pleasant," I said through my heavy breathing.

He let out a small laugh and clutched onto his side as he regained his breath. I did the same, but I knew that we couldn't stay there too long or they might come chasing after us again. That or something much worse would find us there.

"What were those things?" Cedric asked.

"They're Hagrid's Blast-Ended Shrewts," I said. "He had us working with them when they were younger in our class. They were a nightmare to deal with - you should have seen all of the burns that they gave us."

"Thanks for helping me by the way," he said.

"Yeah, well, you weren't the only one being chased," I shrugged.

"True…well, I guess that we should…" he said looking over his shoulder.

"Probably go our separate ways," I finished his sentence for him.

"Right…thanks though," he said.

I nodded and smiled before I took off in the opposite way that he took. With all of that confusion, I didn't really know where I was anymore so I took out my wand and it pointed me in the right way. I walked off a little ways without hearing anything.

Suddenly, just as I was about to slow down to take a look at the burns on my legs, an enormous gust of wind pushed me away from the area that I was in. Just as I looked around, I noticed that the walls of the maze were shifting around and I ran towards a place that they weren't moving anymore. As if this wasn't difficult enough…

I limped along and made my wand point me along the way every now and then. I started to slow down because of the aching in my leg when I heard footsteps coming my way. These, unlike the sprinting ones that I heard from Cedric, sounding like they were stumbling around at a fast pace. I pulled my wand out and walked slowly over to the side.

Just as I was about to turn the corner, I ran directly into someone. Before I could even see who it was, I heard a shout and a sudden pain went through my body. I flew backwards into the hedge and held onto my head that was now aching from the landing. When I looked up, I was shocked to see Viktor Krum standing off to the side. When he saw who I was, he narrowed his eyes and stepped away from me.

What was that about? Maybe he had thought that I was something else, but something felt off. Just as he walked around the corner, I caught sight of his eyes that looked extremely different from before. There was a sort of glaze over them and it looked like he wasn't really focusing on anything in particular. What was wrong with him? Had something gotten to him before he ran into me?

I didn't stand up until I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. As soon as I got my balance back, I heard a scream from a good distance away. Because of the pitch, I knew that it had to have been Fleur that had screamed. What had gotten to her? Some part of me wanted to go see if she was okay, but at the same time I felt like I shouldn't go off in that direction. Something told me that it wouldn't turn out in my favor at all. I'm sure that she had just run into something that she didn't expect.

As another gust of wind began to blast through the area, I took off through the maze even further. Luckily, I was able to run fast enough to keep it from closing in on me, but the downside of this was that I ran directly into a large patch of something that seemed oddly familiar. As the plant tried to trap me, I thought back to my first year at Hogwarts when something like this happened before.

It was Devil's Snare. Luckily enough for me, I knew that the thing that it hated the most was light and I quickly thought up a spell that let me free from its grasp. Once I escaped from it, I made my wand point me in the right direction again. As soon as I found my way, I decided that it was best to move at a fairly fast pace because of the abrupt changes in the pattern of the maze due to the moving hedges. Nice touch Hagrid…

Just as I turned around the next corner, I finally found my brother walking through the hedges in the same direction that I was going. He was holding his wand in hand it was pointing the same way that mine was - towards the north. It was a good thing that he remembered that spell too, it was very useful.

"Harry," I called to him in a sort of whisper because I didn't want anything around us to hear me.

He quickly spun around and pointed his wand directly at my face and, although I was shocked by his actions, I mimicked his stance. For a minute, we both stood there in silence with our wands pointed at one another like we were about to start some sort of duel.

"Oh, it's you…" Harry said standing down.

"You shouldn't stand down so quickly Harry, what if I was another challenge?" I asked him while standing down myself.

"Well, I can tell…" he said. "I know who my sister is. You didn't run into Krum, did you? I think that he already took Fleur out…something isn't right with him…"

"I saw him earlier," I said. "I heard Fleur scream just after he found me. I think that something happened to him. Did you see his eyes?"

Harry nodded and we looked around for a moment as if we expected to see Krum lurking around the corner to attack us.

"We should probably keep moving," I said shakily.

"Right…I guess that we should separate though," he said hesitantly.

"We can walk a little ways with each other, then we'll go our separate ways," I said.

He nodded in agreement and we quickened our pace as we walked around a nearby corner. Ahead of us was a long, straightforward path with something dark moving in the back that I couldn't see because of the lack of light in the maze.

Harry, who caught sight of this as well, pointed his wand at it and sent over a ball of light from his wand. It lit up the area to reveal a creature that I had only ever seen in books before. Its entire body was that of an enormous lion, but its head was a woman's - this could only be a sphinx.

"Should we see what it is?" Harry whispered to me.

"It doesn't look like it wants to kill us…" I said after a moment. "She kind of looks like she's sleeping…maybe we should give it a shot…"

He nodded and we started to move forward together. Once we were about a few yards or so away from the creature, it opened its enormous almond eyes and stared at us with a blank expression. Harry's hand flew towards me and pushed me back so he was standing in front of me. We stood still for a moment with both of our wands at the ready, but nothing happened. The sphinx just stood watching us.

Harry looked back at me for a second and then back at the sphinx. Together, we both moved towards it again, but he made sure that he was the one standing in the front. I don't know what his problem was, I was perfectly capable of handling this myself…

"You both are very near to your goal," she suddenly spoke. "Your quickest way is past me."

There was silence for a moment as we took in her unusually hoarse voice.

"Okay…" I said slowly. "So, would you be so kind as to get out of our way?"

"No," she said bluntly. "Not unless you answer my riddle. Answer it correctly on the first try and I will allow both of you to pass without being harmed. Answer it wrong, then I will attack and kill both of you. Say nothing, I will allow both of you to turn the other way without harm."

Well, it wasn't the worst offer that I've heard. It couldn't hurt to hear what the riddle was, so I just shrugged when Harry looked at me for some sort of approval.

"Er - okay, what is it?" Harry asked.

"First think of the person who lives in disguise,

Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.

Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,

The middle of middle and end of the end?

And finally give me the sound often heard

During the search for a hard-to-find word.

Now string them together, and answer me this,

Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"

Harry looked up and got his thinking face on. I asked her to repeat the riddle again and she went ahead and repeated it. Once she had finished it up the second time, we decided to work out what it could be.

"A person that lives in disguise…deals in secrets…tells lies…" Harry thought aloud.

Suddenly it popped into my head.

"A spy?" I suggested to Harry.

"That sounds right…" he nodded. "The next one?"

"Something that's always the last thing to mend…middle of the middle…end of the end…" I repeated. "I have no idea…"

"What's the last one again?" Harry asked the sphinx.

"And finally give me the sound often heard

During the search for a hard-to-find word."

What could that be? A sound that was often used…hmmm…

"That'd be…er…I don't know…" Harry said. "Wait a minute - er - that's a sound!"

"Okay, so string those together…" I said trying to think. "Spy…er…spy-er?"

"Spider!" Harry shouted.

The sphinx smiled at the two of us and stepped off to the side. We walked through quickly and started moving very fast through the hedges in attempt to regain some ground that we might have lost during our talk with the sphinx.

Although we said that we were going to split up, it was difficult to do because of the fact that we were both using the very same spell to point us the right way. Although we separated temporarily, we ended up meeting each other again only a moment later.

"I guess that they wouldn't mind if we stuck together," Harry shrugged.

"Not that they would know the difference," I said.

We turned another corner after a moment and stood in complete shock at what we saw. Directly ahead of us sat the Triwizard Cup, gleaming and waiting for one of us to grab it. I had already decided that if this situation were to come around that I would just let Harry go ahead and win. It really didn't matter to me at all whether or not I won.

Suddenly, something dark jumped around the corner and began to move directly for the cup. Harry and I shared a brief glance before we sprinted off after the cup. One look ahead of myself told me that it was Cedric that was going to win. Could we make it there before he did?

We sprinted along for a second before something enormous came out from the hedges hurling itself right at Cedric. I barely caught sight of it, but from what I could tell it was an enormous looking spider that looked like it belonged in one of Ron's nightmares.

"Cedric!" I screamed. "Look out!"

He just barely got a look at it before he was attacked. It blocked our entire route towards the cup, but the cup wasn't important at the moment. The spider could potentially kill Cedric and there was no way that I would let that happen and neither would Harry.

"Stupefy!" I shouted and pointed my wand at the spider's leg that was holding Cedric.

Even though it didn't have all that much effect on the spider's hold on Cedric, it seemed to annoy it enough that it simply dropped him on the ground ran at me. My eyes widened and I quickly went ran off to the side.

"Impedimenta!" Harry shouted. "Stupefy!"

I turned around and watched as the spider turned on my brother and effortlessly picked him up with one of his legs. Now that Cedric had been temporarily released, he now joined in on attempting to attack the spider to get it away from us. However, his spells seemed to do as little as ours and after a moment, he was dangling from a spider leg just like Harry was.

"Stupefy!" Harry and Cedric yelled together.

I joined in and started sending the spells at the spider and it turned on me again. I was backed up against a hedge and just about to get picked up when I started yelling several spells at once.

"STUPEFY!" I shouted. "IMPEDIMENTA! STUPEFY! EXPELLIARMUS! _EXPELLIARMUS_!"

The two Disarming spells that I sent seemed to do the trick as it released both Harry and Cedric from the grasp of the spider's legs. However, it didn't seem to help me all that much as I was suddenly and violently picked up from the ground. I hit my head really hard and dropped my wand in the process. I heard the pounding of my heart through my ears and felt like I was about a second from passing out. Luckily, Harry and Cedric had picked up on what spell had released them and did the same for me.

I fell from the spider's grasp and quickly tried to pick myself up so I was standing. I fell over the first time and scrambled to get up with the help of both Harry and Cedric who were dragging me away from the spider as they sent more spells its way.

"Accio," Harry said while pointing towards where my wand fell.

My wand flew into his hands and he quickly handed it over. I regained my balance after a moment and, together, we all sent the same stunning spell at the spider. That seemed to have enough power to finally have the proper effect on the creature because it suddenly began to fall over. Unfortunately for us, the spider was directly above us, so there was a mad scramble to get away from it. I attempted to jump out of its path, but I was soon crushed underneath an enormous spider leg.

I grunted in pain and looked around to see where the others were. I saw Cedric standing off to the side with wide eyes as he looked at the enormous spider. He quickly made a hustle over towards me and tried to pick up the spider's leg.

"Harry - where are you?" Cedric shouted. "Did it fall on you?"

"No, I'm fine - where's Emily?" he shouted from the other side.

"She's over here, come help me!" he shouted back.

Harry came over quickly and soon enough the leg was off of my back and I quickly tried to move away from it. Once I was free, I suddenly felt the pain that had been ignored due to my adrenalin rush. My back and head were aching and I could feel the blood oozing out of my leg and head from where the spider had pinched and dropped me on the ground. I felt very dizzy and had to hold onto the hedge to keep my balance.

"I'm just glad that wasn't a big spider…" Harry muttered sarcastically as he regained his breath.

"Yeah…" I panted. "That would have been awful…"

Cedric let out a short, pained laugh as he held onto his side that was bleeding from a cut that he had gotten from the spider. I looked down at my own wounds once the dizziness started to fade a bit and noticed that several parts of my pants leg had been shredded where the spider had gotten a hold of me and just underneath all of the blood from that cut was the burn that I had received in the beginning of the task. From my face, I could feel the blood coming down the left side where I must have gotten cut on the top of my head and I could feel bruising all over my legs, torso, and arms.

Then I remembered why we were running this way in the first place. When I looked up, I saw the Triwizard Cup sitting right in front of all three of us. Harry and Cedric looked like they were refusing to even acknowledge its existence, but I just looked at it and then at the two other boys.

"Harry, I think that Cedric should take it…" I said as I held onto my aching head.

"I think so too, he deserves it," he said while looking up at Cedric.

Somehow I believed that this would make him happy to know that he was going to be the one to win, but he suddenly looked sickened by even the thought of taking the Cup.

"I don't think so," Cedric said. "The two of you have helped me during this whole task - I wouldn't have made it here if it wasn't for you two. One of you should take it."

"Well, I'm not taking it," I muttered. "Why would I want it?"

"Cedric, you deserve it," Harry said. "You would have made it here first if it wasn't for that spider."

"But the spider was there, so it's yours," Cedric said quickly.

"You helped me with the second task, so just take it," Harry said.

"But you helped me with the first task," Cedric said.

"It doesn't matter, just take it," Harry said irritably.

"No, you take it," Cedric said.

I looked from Harry to Cedric, knowing that neither of them were going to take it because they both believed that the other deserved it. It had already been resolved that I wouldn't take it, so I just tried to stay out of it. I looked around and thought about something. It would be incredibly ironic if another champion was to run up and take it while they were arguing, so we were going to have to figure out a solution.

"Both of you take it," I said suddenly.

They looked at me like I was mad, but I guess that I was. It seemed like the only solution that wouldn't bother the other though, so it was worth a shot.

"Can we even do that?" Cedric asked.

"Sure, why not?" I asked. "Your both from the same school anyway."

"But there is only supposed to be one champion," Harry and Cedric said together.

"Since when has this Tournament stuck to the rules of what is _supposed_ to happen?" I snorted. "It'll be a Hogwarts win - so both of you take it."

"You take it too," Cedric said. "Then all three of us can be the winners for Hogwarts."

"But-"

"It was your idea for a Hogwarts win Emily," Harry said. "So let's just do this all at once."

We all looked from one another and nodded. Together, we all walked over to the Cup and surrounded it. We all held out our hands to grab it and looked around at each other.

"On the count of three," I said.

"One," Harry said.

"Two," Cedric said.

"Three!" I said.

Then, all at once, we grabbed onto the two handles of the cup and were lifted into the air without the ability to let go of its handles, even if we wanted to.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! So, I guess that the graveyard scene is going to be in the next chapter, so I'll try to fit it all into that one.<strong>

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	43. We Shouldn't Be Here

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter. Obviously.**

**Chapter 43**

The gushing of wind came to a sudden stop as we crashed onto the ground. I was laying face down in the dirt and really wished that I could just stay there, but I decided that I should probably not just lie there.

"Where are we?" Cedric asked.

I finally lifted up my head weakly and looked around. For the first time, I realized how quiet it was - something that should have registered when we first landed, but didn't. I suspected that it had something to do with my head wound.

When I looked around, I saw that there were large headstones surrounding us. From a distance away, I made out a small, gloomy looking church and an older looking house in the far distance just sitting on the top of a hill. Something about this place made me feel like we shouldn't be there - like we didn't belong.

"It's a graveyard…" I said slowly as I pulled myself off the ground.

"Is this another part of the task?" Cedric asked skeptically.

None of us answered Cedric's question as we looked around the graveyard further to see what was going on. A small part of me felt like we were being watched by someone that we couldn't see. There was also something telling me that this was not part of the Triwizard Tournament. This had to have been some sort of mistake.

"Get your wands out," I said quietly.

Harry and Cedric looked at me and quickly drew out their wands. We stood together in a sort of circle with our backs together to prepare for anything that was about to attack us. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I didn't like it at all.

"Someone's coming," Harry whispered.

We all turned the way that Harry was looking and I heard heavy footsteps coming from that way. Suddenly I saw a figure coming from the darkness ahead and out from behind a tree that sat a good ways in the distance. The figure, which I gathered was a man, walked slowly towards us. I couldn't make out the person's face, but I could tell that he was carrying something along with him. Whatever it was, it was covered in blankets and I was happy that it was.

There was something about what that man was carrying that made me want to run away and hide. I didn't want to know what it was and I silently wished that the man would go away with it. Harry and Cedric lowered their wands completely, and I slowly and unwillingly followed suit. They both looked at one another and then back at me. Both of them seemed confused.

"We need to leave," I said shakily. "We shouldn't be here."

"What do you-?" Harry started.

Then, all at once, I felt an extreme and unbearable pain searing through my head. All of my nerves felt like they had just been set on fire and I no longer felt like I was in the graveyard, but in some sort of unimaginable pit of fire that was inescapable. I fell to the ground and held my hands to my head in some sort of attempt to keep my brain from exploding out of my skull and onto the ground in front of me. Beside me, I could hear Harry let out a sound of pure agony and I realized that I was doing the same.

"HARRY - EMILY - WHAT'S GOING ON?" Cedric yelled.

"Cedric - get out of here!" I screamed.

Then the pain increased and I felt as though my skull was seconds from splitting in half. I had never felt pain like this and I truly believed that I was going to die. Through all of our screams of pain, I heard something that sounded like it was miles away at the time.

"Kill the spare," a familiar cold, high voice hissed.

The spare - what did he mean the spare? What was happening? I started to look up to see what was happening, but I lost myself once again as another bolt of pain shot through me and made me fall to the ground in pain. When I looked up again, I saw the man underneath the cloak pointing his wand right at Cedric who looked wide eyed and scared. Before he said anything, I grabbed my wand quickly and tried to fight against the pain that was radiating through my skull.

"Avada Kedavra!" a second voice yelled.

"NO!" I screamed. "_PROTEGO!_"

"EMILY!" Cedric yelled.

A giant shield flew through my wand and the green light flew away from Cedric. He jumped backwards quickly and stared ahead at the man that was ready to kill us. Suddenly, a flash of pain flew through my head again and I screamed and fell to the ground again in pain. My eyelids flew shut as I feared that they would fly out of my head because of what was going through my head. Was this what death felt like?

"RUN CEDRIC!" I screamed.

"What is going on?" Cedric yelled.

"Crucio!" the man yelled.

After a flash of red light flew and hit Cedric, I heard a terrible scream that echoed through the graveyard. Beside me, I could hear the thrashing of a person's body that I knew was Cedric being tortured. If it hadn't been for this awful pain in my skull, I would have tried to help, but the pain was so intense that I was surprised that I even knew what was going on around me.

Several other spells were thrown towards Cedric and with a sickening crunch, I knew that some of his bones were broken. Even through all of that, I was only happy to recognize that not a single flash of green was thrown again to kill him.

Suddenly the pain that I believed would kill me went away in an instant. Afraid of what was happening, I did not want to stand up or open my eyes or even move for that matter. I just hoped somehow that this was all a dream that I was about to wake up from. When I opened my eyes, I hoped to see the crowds of the school surrounding me and the third task completed. However, when I finally forced my eyelids open, I was terrified to see that this was reality.

I was frozen in fear and I felt as though I could no longer move my body. What was happening? Why was this happening? Who was the man that was coming towards us? Who was the one that ordered for the death of Cedric? I quickly scrambled over towards Cedric to see if he was still alive. I put my ear to his chest and listened closely. Though it was moving slowly, I heard the small thud of a beating heart that told me that he was unconscious.

Then I caught sight of the man in the cloak that was walking towards us and all of my senses went on hyper alert. I quickly jumped up from my frozen, feeble position and backed away quickly. Beside me stood Harry who looked several shades paler and just as terrified as I would imagine that I was at the moment. Together, we tried to put as much distance between ourselves and the man as humanly possible without breaking our eyes from the man.

We kept backing up until the back of our heels collided with something behind us. I glanced backwards, while still looking at the man, to see what it was. It was an enormous marble headstone that had a familiar looking name on it. Just as I comprehended what I had just read, I was slammed up against the headstone by an unseen force while ropes were conjured around my brother and me that bound us to the horrific object.

The name that I had seen was TOM RIDDLE, a name that I knew all to well because of my past.

When I looked forward, I saw for the first time the face of the cloaked man that had just roped us to the marble headstone. The small, trembling man had a face that someone could not easily forget. He had a strange resemblance to a mouse and appeared just as frightened as one. It was Peter Pettigrew - Wormtail.

"You?" Harry gasped.

Without saying a word, Wormtail stepped over to us and shoved some cloth into our mouths and bound it there so we were unable to speak. Now we were unable to move or make a sound, but why this was happening, I still didn't know. Though I did have this strange feeling that it had something to do with the thing that Wormtail had been carrying over.

Once we were silenced, Wormtail hurried off towards the side to retrieve something that we couldn't see due to the fact that we couldn't move our heads to watch him. The only thing that we had the ability to look at was Cedric's unconscious body, the gleaming Triwizard Cup, and the thing that Wormtail had carried with him over here.

As I got a closer look at the thing, I tried to figure out what it was. Although I had no interest at all in actually seeing the thing myself, my own wonder at what the horrible thing could be was still a mystery to me. While it sat on the ground, I noticed that it was moving about. With every move it made, I felt a burn in my head that made me want to yell at it to tell it to sit still. For a moment, I thought that the thing might even be a small infant, but the thought of it being something so innocent made me think otherwise.

From behind the headstone, I heard Wormtail's panicked footsteps stomping around in search for something. His wheezing breath increased as an enormous snake came slithering out from behind one of the headstones. I felt my eyes widen and I desperately tried to get a look over at Harry in attempt of getting some sort of comfort out of this horrible situation.

I looked as far over to the side where Harry was and for a brief moment, our eyes met and I could see the fear in his. His face was pale and his eyes were wide as he watched the snake intently. Even worse, I noticed that the thing underneath the cloth that Wormtail had brought now seemed to be restless. I hoped that it was dying…

Then I caught sight of Wormtail again as he was wheezing heavily as he was dragging an enormous cauldron across the ground. This particular cauldron was not the type that we usually used in Potions class either, this was something that was large enough for several of our classmates to sit in comfortably. Inside of the cauldron, I could hear some sort of liquid sloshing around inside of it and I wondered what they were planning on doing with it. Was he going to boil us alive? Force us to drink a potion that brought on a slow and painful death? But how did any of this relate to the thing that he had brought with him - it had to be involved somehow, otherwise he wouldn't have carried it along with him.

Once Wormtail stopped moving the cauldron, he started waving his wand around and casting spells on it that made the liquid inside come to a quick boil. As the cauldron heated up, the creature inside of the cloth started moving around even more. Every pain that I received in my head told me that I really did not want that thing to show itself.

"Hurry," a voice hissed from the cloth.

My eyes widened as I realized that cold voice that I had heard before had come from the thing inside. Was it a person? If it was a person, then they must be extremely small because it appeared as though it was something that was the size of a large baby or a small child.

Wormtail waved his wand a few more times before he addressed the thing in the cloth.

"It is ready Master," he said nervously.

He then walked over to pick up the bundle of cloths once more, but this time, it was only to take them off of what was lying inside. I started to yell at him to tell him to leave it there to die, to keep it away, but the only thing that came out was a strangled yell that in no way could be comprehended.

As soon as the cloths were taken off, I heard a scream and a yell coming from both Harry and me. I had been right - the thing inside of the cloths wasn't something that I wanted to see at all. Underneath the cloth was a person that looked anything but normal. It was small, slimy, and ugly. Although it had small features that gave of the appearance of a human, it was hardly anything like it. The small, childlike thing was completely hairless and looked as though it was covered in what appeared to be a dark, reddish type of skin that looked like he was recovering from some intensive burn. His face was flat and had the resemblance of the snake that had now slithered off into the distance. His eyes were blood red.

As soon as I had seen this thing, my scar had lit up like it was on fire again. Unlike last time, I still had the ability to see what was going on in front of me, something that I truly wish that I didn't have at this point. What I saw was Wormtail carry the thing over to the cauldron and dump it into the liquid. Good, maybe this would drown and kill the thing.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given," Wormtail said shakily. "You will renew your son!"

Wormtail held up his wand and waved it into the air. The ground underneath me shook and then split apart suddenly and violently. Then, from it came a fine trickle of dust that rose into the air and went over to the cauldron where it fell into the boiling liquid.

At this point, it appeared that Wormtail was having some sort of emotional breakdown. Tears where streaming down his face and he was breathing in short, ragged breaths. When he spoke, it was almost difficult to understand the words that were coming through his mouth because of his sobbing.

"F-flesh of the s-servant," he cried. "W-willing given…you…you will r-revive your master."

Flesh of the servant? Assuming that Wormtail was referring to himself as the servant, did that mean that he had to give a part of himself? What was he reviving? What was he going to do?

At once, slowly and hesitantly, Wormtail raised a dagger over his head and I quickly shut my eyes as the blade came in contact with his skin. There was a terrible scream that could have been heard from miles away that erupted from the man because of his incredible pain. Worse than the scream itself, I heard something splash into the liquid and something else fall to the ground. Because of where the blade made contact, I knew that his now unattached hand had just fallen into the cauldron.

Slowly, as the sobs and gasps slowed down slightly, I opened up my eyes again. Beside me, I could feel my brother shaking in fear underneath the ropes that held him down. I wanted more than anything for him to leave - if only they would let Harry go then I would be fine.

In front of me, I saw the cauldron once more. However, instead of the liquid that I had seen before, the cauldron was now filled with something that was bright red. My eyes were so transfixed at the horrible scene in front of me along with the pain that was burning my forehead that I had forgotten about Wormtail. When I saw him next, he stood directly in front of me with a wicked looking expression on his face. I tried to scream, but the cloth in my mouth kept it from coming out of my throat, all that could be heard were the muffled screams of agony that I was trying to project. Harry, who must have understood why I was screaming now, began to yell as well. I couldn't understand what he was yelling, but I knew that he was terrified.

"Blood of the e-enemies…forcibly taken," Wormtail said through gasps of agony. "Y-you will resurrect your f-foe…"

My eyes widened in terror as a silver dagger that he was holding in his remaining hand came towards me. I did everything in my power to break free of it, but there was nothing that I could do. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to witness it, but it didn't help the pain at all. As soon as the sharp blade came in contact with my skin, I could feel the incredible stinging as it ripped open my flesh on my right forearm and allowed the blood to flow heavily down towards the ground. After I felt the blade come off of my skin, Wormtail's footsteps ran the other way and I heard a hiss coming from the cauldron in front of me. Then, in a quick scurry, I heard him return. But this time, he was heading to the person bound to the left of me. My eyes flew open as I realized that he was going to do the same thing to Harry that he had just done to me. My screams of protest were muffled behind the cloth, but they weren't entirely silenced. Harry yelled in agony and I knew that the blade was now going through him.

I watched as he scurried back over to the cauldron and let some of the blood that was on the knife trickle down into the cauldron with a fiery hiss as it connected to the liquid. Now that this had been added, Wormtail fell to the ground and clutched onto the stump of an arm that he now had and began to sob. To the best of my ability, I attempted to ignore the horrible burning feeling that was coming from my arm and watched the cauldron intently.

Suddenly the cauldron began to simmer and sparks were sent flying out of the pot. At this point, I seriously hoped that the creature that had been dropped in earlier had now drowned. It was very likely that it could have happened because of how long it had been in there, but this sickening feeling inside me told me that this was just the beginning.

When the sparks stopped, I felt like something inside of me had just died. I knew that my hopes of the creature's death were pointless. I also realized that whatever had just been done to it was going to make it worse than it had been when I had first seen it. I didn't want to see it again.

Suddenly, white steam came out of the cauldron and flooded the area around it so that no one could see what was happening to it. Silently, I hoped that the thing had died, that Wormtail hadn't been fast enough to help it.

But I knew that it wasn't dead, the increase in the pain of my scar told me that. The thing was alive and it was no longer that weak little thing that it had been before - it was more powerful now and was even more capable of doing damage.

From inside of the mist, I saw the man emerge from the cauldron. He was tall, thin, and sickly pale and faced the opposite direction of the marble headstone that Harry and I were bound to.

"Where is my robe, Wormtail?" he hissed.

Wormtail, who had just been sobbing on the ground, scrambled around to find his wand. Through his sobs, he conjured a set of black robes that flew around the man and covered him up. Something inside of me told me that I shouldn't watch, that I should close my eyes before he turns to look this way with those terrifying eyes that I had seen before, but my terror kept me looking at him. At the man that had haunted my nightmares for so many years.

Then he turned around to face us, those cold, red eyes bore into mine for the first time since I was a baby and I knew that at this point, any other person would be screaming in terror, but something inside of me kept me silent and staring out at the man that had ruined so many lives.

Lord Voldemort had returned.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - tell me what you think! The next part of the graveyard scene will follow up in the next chapter. That one should be out the day after tomorrow unless something comes up that prevents me from writing it.<strong>

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	44. He's Back

**Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter - just kidding, no I don't.**

**Chapter 44**

My eyes were stuck on the risen figure of Voldemort in complete disbelief and terror. This seemed like something that would only happen in a nightmare, but this time it was real. This was really happening.

From what I could see, Voldemort himself was trying to grasp on to the idea himself. Instead of actually paying attention to anyone or anything around us, he examined his new body in complete fascination as if he had never seen anything so magnificent.

While he moved around his newly formed body parts, I attempted to move around behind the ropes without making much noise to alarm the people around me. Although, I believe that a fully grown dragon could have marched through here and Voldemort wouldn't even turn to see what it was - he was too engrossed in the fact that he now had a body of his own.

I glanced over to where Cedric's unconscious body was laying and silently prayed that he wouldn't wake up. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that Voldemort wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he even moved slightly. Then I tried to turn as much as I could to see what Harry was doing. Had he fell unconscious as well? I hadn't heard a noise from him since the dagger had sliced his arm open. When I did strain to look at him, I found that he had just been staring in silence and looking forward as the scene in front of us went on. By the terrified look on his face, it wasn't hard to guess that he was feeling the same as I did.

"Your arm Wormtail," Voldemort's cold voice hissed to the sobbing man below him.

"M-master?" he cried as he held out his stump of an arm in gratitude.

"Your other arm," Voldemort snarled.

Wormtail suddenly stopped in confusion and then burst into more sobs. He held out his other arm and Voldemort quickly grabbed ahold of it and jerked it towards himself. He pushed his sleeve of his left arm up past his elbow to reveal a large, red tattoo that stretched across it. I had seen the image before at the Quidditch World Cup - it was the Dark Mark.

"It's back," Voldemort said with a cruel smile on his face. "They all must have noticed...let us see about that then..."

He held out his long, white finger and pressed it into the middle of the mark on Wormtail's arm. As soon as the mark turned jet black, a searing hot pain shot suddenly through my forehead and everything went black.

* * *

><p>When I returned back to the graveyard, I had no idea how much time had passed since Voldemort had pressed into the mark on Wormtail's forearm. However, after the moment or two that it took for me to actually remember where I was, I noticed that more people had arrived at the scene and by the way that Voldemort was talking, it appeared that they had been there a while listening to him.<p>

I glanced over at Cedric to see if he was all right, but it seemed as though no one had taken any notice on him since he had passed out a while ago because of the torture he went through.

Wormtail, who had been sobbing before I passed out, now stood around the group looking prouder than ever with something. Then I noticed the arm that had once been a stump now had a silver hand to it. This must have been some kind of reward that Voldemort had given him for bringing him back. Isn't that just thoughtful of him.

"When I heard about the Triwizard Tournament from Bertha Jorkins, I knew that there was no better time to get ahold of them both," Voldemort told his followers as he paced around them. "All I had to do was use a faithful Death Eater of mine at Hogwarts to make sure that both of their names would come out of the Goblet of Fire. Now, here the are. The two children who brought about my temporary downfall now stand against the tomb of my Muggle father."

Voldemort now turned his eyes towards Harry and I and felt my blood run cold. I knew that what was about to happen was not going to be pleasant at all. All of those years of hatred towards us were about to be released and there was no chance that he would go easy on us. In one swift movement, he stepped towards Harry and pointed his wand at him.

"Crucio!"

"NO!" I screamed, even though it only came out as a strangled muffle.

My protest did nothing to stop Harry's pain and probably only gave Voldemort more reason to want to torture my brother, but I wasn't thinking of that at the time - the only thing that registered was the fact that my brother was being tortured and I couldn't do anything to help him. I tried to fight against the ropes that were tying me to the stone without success. I wanted to get down from the stone so that I could go get my discarded wand so that I could inflict some pain on him.

"Does that bother you Emily?" Voldemort said with a cruel laugh.

He put down his wand for a moment and released Harry from his torture. Quickly he walked over to me and held his wand up to my throat. It took everything in my power to keep eye contact with those horrible red eyes of his, but I refused to show any sign of weakness if I could help it.

"You aren't answering me Emily," he snarled. "That's disrespectful - CRUCIO!"

All at once it felt like every nerve in my body was on fire and electricity was shooting through it. It was the worst pain that I had ever felt, but it only lasted for a moment before Voldemort released me once again.

"Do you have an answer for me now girl?" he sneered.

Without even thinking about what I was doing, I gathered all of the saliva in my mouth and spit it directly into his face. He jerked backwards at once and the evil grin that he had on his face before was now replaced with one of complete fury. He quickly repeated the same spell as before, but this time I was ready for the pain - not that it made a difference in the level of pain, but at least I had some sort of knowledge of what was going to happen now.

"Release both of them Wormtail," Voldemort ordered once the curse was removed from me. "Give them their wands - it's time to end this."

The Death Eaters, who had been laughing before with their master, now all became serious at once as Wormtail scurried towards us to let us free. He removed the gags from our mouths first and then, with one simple strike, the ropes were gone and we fell from our previous stance. Our wands, which had been lying on the ground since we had gotten here, were thrown at us. When I caught mine, I looked over at Harry who was trying to act brave so they wouldn't think of him as weak, but I could see it in his eyes that he was terrified and unsure of what we were going to do now. In other words, we were both on the same page.

"I believe that both of you have learned the proper way to duel," Voldemort said.

It was true - both Harry and I attended the one session of the Dueling Club during our second year. Even though it mostly turned out to be a joke because Lockhart didn't have a clue what he was doing, I did learn some things I suppose. Then again, the only thing that I seem to remember, other than learning that we spoke Parseltongue, was that Snape seemed to be a lot better dueler than Lockhart. It was during that session that we learned the Disarming Spell, though I didn't believe that the spell would be of much use when taking on Voldemort himself.

"First we must bow," Voldemort said while arching his back slightly.

Harry and I looked at each other in disbelief. How could he honestly be taking it this far? Why does he even bother going through all of this when he knows that he can easily kill us both with the spell that we both know that he had been well practiced in - the Killing Curse. I guess that all of those years in hiding had given him time to plan out this moment and I guess that he was just trying to torture us even more by letting us live longer with the knowledge that he had finally gotten to us.

"I said bow!" Voldemort snarled.

He lifted up his wand and waved it towards us both. Suddenly I felt my back arch unwillingly and it was actually really painful despite the fact that this was a completely natural movement. Probably something about being forced to do this, it just never turns out pleasant when you do something against your will.

"Very good," Voldemort said while his Death Eaters laughed at us. "Now it is time to begin our duel. Let's test the power of Lord Voldemort against the Twins that Lived."

He stood in a stance and pointed his wand towards us. The look in his eyes told me that he had been waiting for this moment for a long time and that he would do anything to make sure we felt as much pain as possible. I knew that there wasn't a very high chance of me actually making it out of this alive, but I made it a silent goal of mine to make sure that Harry didn't go through as much pain as I would. I would try to protect him as much as I could.

"Crucio!" Voldemort yelled and pointed in Harry's direction.

"Protego!" I shouted.

A shield flew up and knocked the curse away from Harry. A sickening look flew across Voldemort's face as he suddenly turned to me and quickly waved his wand and that familiar feeling of electricity shooting through my nerves. I screamed for a moment and then fell to the ground. Once the pain subsided, I could hear the Death Eaters laughing and noticed that Harry was standing in between Voldemort and me.

"Isn't that just touching," Voldemort sneered. "He's trying to protect her."

The Death Eaters laughed even more and I stood up quickly and pointed my wand directly at Voldemort and thought of the first spell that I could think of.

"Stupefy!" I yelled.

Not expecting me to attack, the spell went straight at Voldemort and hit him square in the chest. Although it didn't seem to be very powerful, it sent him backwards and he hit a large gravestone that stood behind him. All at once, the Death Eaters stopped laughing and drew their wands at once.

"Don't touch them," Voldemort hissed. "They are mine to kill."

Harry walked back towards me and stood beside me with his wand at the ready. At this point, I knew that I had aggravated him enough to where he was no longer in the mood to just play around and he was ready to show us his true power. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to attack, but at least it would speed up the process of my death.

"Silly girl," Voldemort sneered as he glared at me. "You remind me of your parents - they tried to fight as well. It's a shame that it didn't do them any good anyway."

"As I recall, that night didn't turn out in your favor either," I retorted.

"You're as pathetic now as you were then," Harry snarled.

"Is that so?" Voldemort hissed. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

Harry and I glanced at each other, both silently deciding what our next move would be. Just as the curse escaped Voldemort's mouth, we quickly jumped out of its way and went behind the gravestone of Voldemort's father.

On the other side of the headstone, I suddenly heard a groaning noise and I felt like something dropped through my chest. It was Cedric and he was comic back to consciousness.

"He's alive?" Voldemort snarled. "I told you to kill him Wormtail!"

Fear flew through me at once as I realized what we had forgotten about. Cedric, who had been unconscious basically the entire time we had been there, had just shown Voldemort that he was still alive. He was putting himself in danger.

"I-I m-meant to m-my Lord," Wormtail stammered.

I looked around the headstone to see where Cedric was sitting to see if I could tell what they were going to do. Voldemort was now turned on Wormtail who seemed more terrified as usual with his master. I guess that Voldemort didn't like it too much when people didn't obey his exact orders. I caught sight of Cedric who was now standing quickly and looking around trying to search for us. When we finally got his attention, he started moving towards us quickly, but was stopped in an instant when Voldemort waved his wand.

"I don't think so," Voldemort hissed. "You won't get away as easily as they have."

Cedric's eyes widened at the sight of him, but the spell that he had on him did not allow him to move himself at all. As Voldemort walked quickly over to Cedric, i suddenly got the urge to run over there to help him. As soon as I started to move, Voldemort made the movement of his wand and said the words that I feared the most at this point.

"Avada Kedavra!" he shouted.

With a sudden flash of green light, Cedric Diggory fell to the ground in a heap and no longer moved at all and I stopped moving at once. He was dead. And it was all because I couldn't get there in time. With a cruel laugh, Voldemort suddenly turned to me and raised his wand once more. I copied his motion and pointed my wand directly at him, ready for him to make his fatal move. Just as Voldemort's lips moved to say the curse that could kill me, Harry appeared next to me and at the same time, both of us yelled the very same spell.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort yelled.

"Expelliarmus!" we both yelled together.

Suddenly, the two spells, one green and two red beams of light, met in the air and sparks flew from where they collided. My wand began to vibrate in my hand and I instinctively grabbed it with both of my hands to make sure that it wouldn't fly out of my hands. When I looked over at Harry, I noticed that his wand was doing the very same as mine was and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that Voldemort's wand was acting strangely as well.

After only a couple of seconds, the two different colored beams suddenly changed to a bright golden color which was almost difficult to look at and a loud, familiar song began to play that I remembered to be the song of the Pheonix. Then, all of a sudden, my feet were lifted from the ground and all three of us began to rise above the graveyard. The Death Eaters below us began to panic at our sudden change in location.

"Don't do anything!" Voldemort snarled. "They're mine!"

We continued to rise and my hand suddenly began to feel like it was on fire, but I did everything that I could to focus on what I was doing so that Voldemort didn't have a chance of overpowering either of us. That was when the sparks in the center of the connection began to go off even more. From it, much to my surprise, came a hand that I went on to guess that it was Wormtail's missing hand that appareared to be in ghost form.

Then the body of Cedric Diggory appeared in the same ghost form that the hand has just appeared in. The sight of him nearly made me let go of my wand in shock, but I held on anyway.

"Don't let go," Cedric told us both. "You can do this."

I looked at him in shock, but listened to what he said and tried my best to focus on making sure my spell wouldn't break and I wouldn't let go of the wand.

From out of the wand came several other people. First, an old man appeared that I recognized from the recurring dream that we had been having over the summer. After that, the woman that I remembered from the many photos I saw in the newspaper of her - it was Bertha Jorkins.

All of them were saying one of two things:

"Harry, hold on, you can do it."

"Emily, don't give up - you can do this."

Then, two people showed up that I never expected to see again in my life - it was our parents. When they appeared in their ghost like form, they smiled at us and I could see the love in their eyes, even if they were just a memory.

"The connection isn't going to last much longer," our father said quickly to us. "We are only going to stay around a little longer."

"When the connection breaks, you two have to go to the Portkey to go back to Hogwarts," our mother said. "Harry and Emily, do you understand?"

"Yes," Harry nodded.

"Harry, Emily - can you bring my body back?" Cedric asked. "For my father?"

"Of course we can," I nodded while still hanging on to my wand that was shaking heavily at this point. "Cedric, I'm so sorry that I didn't make it to you in time - I should have moved faster, I shouldn't have left you there alone."

I know that I hadn't exactly been the best of friends with Cedric, but I had always believed him to be a kind, respectable person. Ever since that flash of green had gone off and his body had collided with the ground, I had felt so badly that I couldn't have saved him.

"Emily, please don't apologize," Cedric said. "I know that you tried to save me and that means more than you could know now. Just tell my father that I love him, will you?"

I nodded and my parents smiled warmly for a moment and then back towards Voldemort for a moment. There wasn't much time left.

"We are so proud of you two," our mother smiled. "But I think that it's time that you let go now."

"Let go Harry and Emily," our dad said. "NOW!"

Suddenly we broke free of the curses that held us together and we fell towards the ground and landed on our feet. The Death Eaters, who were too stunned and confused to realize what was happening, did not grab onto us as we raced past them to where the cup and Cedric's body were laying.

I grabbed onto Cedric's arm and Harry grabbed onto my arm and quickly summoned the Triwizard Cup towards him with one simple spell. Just as the cup raced towards Harry's hand, I heard one final yell of anger.

"SOMEONE STOP THEM!" Voldemort shrieked.

With one final glimpse into the blood red eyes of Lord Voldemort, the area of us began to spin around and we were flying away once more.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I know that a lot of you wanted to have Cedric stay alive, but I felt that it was an important plot point to have him murdered by Voldemort. I also thought that it would be a nice little twist if I had Emily attempt to save him, tell me what you think about that.<strong>

**I also realize that I skipped some of the scene in the beginning of the chapter. If you've read the book, then you should know what happened. Sorry, I just didn't want to repeat all of that information...I hope you all don't mind.**

**Recently, I have been accused of plagiarism of the Harry Potter and here is what I have to say on that matter: I do realize that I use a lot of the actual story in my fanfiction, but my intention in this story was to add my own type of character to an already amazing story. I do apologize and I will try to keep the story my own, but I would also like to keep to the storyline as well. I thank the reviewer that pointed this out.**

**Tell me what you think!**


	45. He's Not MadEye

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 45**

We flew through the air and all of the air around us blurred our vision. Not even wanted to see anything around us, I closed my eyes tightly. Now that I was finally out of the situation, it all came down on me and I wish that I could just go away somewhere with Harry and act like none of it had ever happened. For someone who didn't cry very often and always tried my best to put on a brave face, I felt myself holding back the horrible sobs when I truly realized what had happened and now we were going to have to face people and explain everything that happened. I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out...

Instead of this solitude that I hoped for, only seconds later I found myself face down in the grass. It was at that moment, when I heard the cheers of the crowd, that I actually remembered that we were just participating in the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. After everything that had happened I had completely forgotten. With all of this in mind, I suddenly lost control of myself and broke down.

Harry was in the same state that I was in and we were both clutching onto the body of Cedric Diggory as we sobbed in realization of everything that had just happened. This wasn't the end and we both knew that Cedric was only the beginning of a series of murders that we would witness at the hands of Voldemort.

After only seconds, which felt more like an eternity, there were sounds of absolute terror and fear along with the sound of footsteps surrounding us as the crowd finally understood what was going on.

I felt a pair of hands grab onto my arms, but I couldn't bring myself to move at all. All that I could think to do was to hold on as tightly as I could to both Harry and Cedric because of the state of terror that I was in. Silent tears streamed down my face along with panicked gasps that escaped from me that I hardly recognized as myself. I felt like I was having an out of body experience. Only a part of me registered that an extra person came down next to me and whispered something in my ear.

"Emily, it's okay," the familiar voice of Severus Snape whispered in my ear. "You can let go of him."

Knowing who this was, I decided to put my trust in him in knowing that no one would take Cedric away to some dangerous place. Snape, who was crouching down next to me, helped me stand up and it was then that I suddenly realized how many injuries that I had. Every muscle in my body ached and I could hardly stand anymore because of my heavily swollen ankle that I now believe that I had twisted on my running towards the cup and Cedric on my way out.

Dumbledore helped Harry stand up and we both noticed at that point just how many people were standing around us. It appeared that the entire audience that had shown up to the task was now standing around trying to understand what had happened.

I felt my throat close up and I turned to Harry who looked just as bad as he still clutched onto Cedric in attempt to conceal him from the crowd, but he took it on to tell Dumbledore what had happened to the three of us in only a few short words.

"He's back," Harry choked out. "Voldemort - he's back."

Dumbledore's face grew incredibly pale and Snape's eyes grew wide. Everyone that had heard us suddenly grew panicked. That's when I caught the face of Cornelius Fudge coming through the crowd. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he would want an explanation of what had happened and it wasn't going to be easy to retell the events that had just happened.

"What's happened?" Fudge asked and then came to an abrupt stop when he caught sight of Cedric on the ground. "Is he...is he dead? Diggory is dead!"

This made matters even worse as the crowd around us panicked even further at the news of a death. If I believed that I wanted to crawl into a hole before, it was nothing compared to now. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to have to explain everything to everyone and I knew that Harry didn't want that either.

When I looked down at Cedric, I realized that this was the first time that I had actually taken a look at him since he had fallen. His cold, still figure made me feel like I couldn't breathe and I let out a gasp and the tears began to flow even more. This was all my fault. I know that Cedric didn't want me to believe that, but it was true. If I could have been faster than I could have saved him.

When I began to back away from his body to try to escape, I felt someone bring me closer to them and put their arms around me. After a moment of sobbing into their shoulder, I realized that it was Snape and I sobbed even more. I don't remember ever crying this much, but I needed to and there was not stopping it at this point. I held onto Snape like he was the only thing that was keeping me on this earth. If I needed for anything, it was for this. He was my only comfort right now with Harry being just as much of a wreck as I was, although he was slightly more controlled than I was at the moment.

"Everything is going to be okay Emily," Snape whispered to me as he hugged me tightly. "We are going to protect you and we won't let him hurt either of you."

I couldn't bring myself to answer him, but by the tone of his voice, I could tell that he meant what he said. Although I knew that there was no promise that he could actually protect us from Voldemort, I knew that he would do anything in his power to try to make this promise a reality. It was true that I would never allow him to hurt himself for our benefit, but it meant a lot to me.

Just as I heard some panicked voices around me, I turned around, while still holding on tightly to Snape, to see what was going on.

"Albus, Diggory is coming over here," someone was saying. "We can't let him see his son - not like this anyway, not before he is told."

Dumbledore looked hesitant, but then he hurried over to try to stop Cedric's father before he saw what had happened to his son. Harry looked over at Snape and me and I could tell that I needed to go over to him. I looked up at Snape who nodded and I quickly walked over to Harry and held him tightly. Although Harry tried his best to control his fear and grief, I heard his quiet sobbing as he hugged me and I tried to help him as best as I could. That was when I heard an odd clunking behind me.

"Potter - you both need to lie down," the man growled. "Come with me."

I let go of Harry and looked over to see Mad-Eye Moody grabbing Harry by the arm and dragging him away. Just as I was about to protest, he grabbed onto my arm as well and began to force us another way. But something about the way that he was forcibly taking us away from the scene seemed a little odd given the circumstances. While we were being taken towards the castle, I tried to find where Snape or Dumbledore had gone off to, but there was no sign of either of them.

While we were taken through the crowd, I tried to ignore the gasps of horror as the people around us saw us. It didn't occur to me until now, but there was blood, both fresh and dried, all over my body, not to mention the leg that I was heavily limping on probably made me a horrifying sight to anyone else. Harry, who looked both scared and stunned, looked like he was in the same condition as I was - there was a lot of blood and cuts all over him.

"What happened?" Moody growled once we made it to the stone steps of the castle and away from the crowd.

"The Cup was a Portkey..." Harry mumbled. "It took all three of us to a graveyard...Voldemort was there...he was brought back..."

"The Dark Lord was there?" Moody said hungrily. "What happened once he had returned?"

Something about the way that he had said it sounded like he was eager and excited to hear what had happened in detail. Maybe it was me just being paranoid after what had happened, but this seemed a bit odd even for someone that is commonly regarded as being mad.

"He...he killed Cedric..." I choked out. "Then we...we dueled him..."

"You two dueled the Dark Lord?" Moody asked quickly. "And you're still alive? What was it like? What happened?"

"Our wands did this weird thing with his..." Harry mumbled miserably. "...we saw our parents...then we got away..."

It was at that moment that I noticed where we were in the castle. In my own mind, I believed that we were headed to the hospital wing because of his comment that we should lie down. Why had be brought us to his office then? It just seemed a little odd. Then again, Mad-Eye hadn't always been known to be normal.

Once he had unlocked the door to his office, he pulled up two chairs for us to sit in and then went and got something from his cupboard to give to us.

"How did they bring him back?" he asked as he handed over the potion. "What was done?"

Harry looked like he was sick and was about to drink what he had in his hand when I gave him a look. Even though I wasn't in my normal frame of mind, I knew better than to just drink anything that was given to me.

"What is this?" I croaked, my voice uneven due to all the crying that I just did.

"It'll make you feel better - drink it," he said.

Although I had my doubts, the potion didn't look dangerous. Considering that I was receiving the potion from one of the most paranoid wizards of all time, I figured that it wouldn't be dangerous to drink and went ahead and drank it all at once. He was right, it did help bring everything back into focus and made my mind less fuzzy.

"They made some sort of potion," I said feebly. "They used something from his father's grave, Wormtail, and both of us..."

Everything from the graveyard came rushing at me once again and I drifted off again and looked out of the window by Moody's desk. From outside, I could still hear screams of terror and grief coming from the Quidditch field below. Even though I didn't like the feeling of being up here with Moody, he'd always sort of freaked me out, I was almost relieved that I didn't have to look at all of the frightened faces of the people below. It was difficult enough to know that we would have to retell the story once, let alone to all of the people below. I hope that Cedric's father was okay...I meant to tell him Cedric's message, but I didn't get a chance to see him before I was taken up here. I hope that Dumbledore was able to calm him down enough...it could never be easy to lose a child...

"What did he take from you?" Moody asked.

"Our blood..." I mumbled and showed him the cut that ran down my forearm, Harry did the same.

"Did the Death Eaters come?" he asked.

"Yes, there were a lot of them," Harry said.

"Did he forgive them?" Moody asked with a slight twitch.

That was when Harry suddenly jumped up with a panicked look in his eyes. He set down the cup that Moody had given him and went to walk out of the room when Mad-Eye stopped him.

"There's a Death Eater inside of the school!" Harry said while shaking. "I need to tell Dumbledore - Voldemort said that there is a Death Eater in the school right now!"

"What?" I asked.

Harry sat down and quickly explained what all had happened while I had been unconscious. He named off several of the Death Eaters that were there, many of them had children that attended Hogwarts, and then got on to where he had mentioned that there was one that was at Hogwarts at the moment. Who could it be? One person came to my mind immediately.

"Who do you think it is?" Harry asked once he finished explaining.

"I know who it is..." Moody said faintly.

"Do you think that it's Karkaroff?" I asked.

"Karkaroff?" Moody sneered. "No, he ran off as soon as he felt the Mark burn in his arm."

"I always thought it was him that put our name in the Goblet," Harry said while he sat back down.

"You did?" I asked. "You never said anything."

In fact, this was the first that I had heard about that. I guess that it had just been something that he had guessed but didn't have any actual proof to back it up. Maybe it was just a consideration. It would have made sense, but he had acted so angry when it had happened that I hadn't even considered him as an option.

"No, it wasn't him that did that," Moody growled. "It was me that did that."

"I didn't think that it Karkaroff either - wait, what?" I asked.

It took me a minute to actually register what he had just said, but when I did I was in complete shock and disbelief. This had to be some kind of sick joke that he was playing on us to try to lighten the mood. There is no way that Mad-Eye Moody, the most paranoid Auror of all time, was the person that set us up to be captured by Voldemort. It didn't make any sense.

"You didn't answer my question," he growled. "Did he forgive the worthless scum that ran away when I sent the Dark Mark into the sky during the World Cup?"

Harry, who was sitting down next to me, appeared to be stunned into silence. If Moody's first comment wasn't enough to surprise us, the second one did the trick. What did he mean that he was the one that sent the Dark Mark into the sky? Why would Moody do that - he was a well known Auror that brought several dark wizards in! Why would he turn them in and work for our side when he was really on Voldemort's side. None of this added up.

"You were the one that did that?" I choked out with disbelief.

"Of course I was the one that did it!" Moody scoffed. "I was prepared to risk it all in order to show that I was the one that remained faithful to the Dark Lord after all this time! Then I decided what I had to do next - I had to give him the only two things that he would want in this world more than anything - the two of you! That's why I entered you two into the Tournament - it was all me!"

Suddenly I realized just how mad this man was. There was this crazed look in his one, actual eye that gazed over at the two of us like we were a meal. However, his other eye seemed to be moving all over the place rapidly like it was trying to escape from the person that it was attached to.

"H-how?" Harry said suddenly. "I-it couldn't have been you!"

"But it was!" Moody said in a deranged tone. "I put your names into the Goblet under two different schools that weren't already in the competition! Next I had to make sure that no one would stand in your way of winning - it wasn't easy and it took a lot of planning, but I did it!"

"You're mad..." I said under my breath in disbelief.

"That's right Emily Potter - no sane person could have put up with as much as I have," he said with a twitch in his eye. "You know all that help you received from others - that all came from me! Who do you think gave Hagrid the idea to show the dragons to you? Who do you think gave Cedric Diggory the idea to put the egg underwater? Of course, I had to trust that he would pass this information on to at least one of you - there wasn't even a question that if one of you figured it out that you would tell the other, which I was right in thinking of course."

At this point, I couldn't even bring myself to speak. I was so shocked by all of this that I couldn't even form the things that were coming to mind. This was all too confusing to understand.

"Who do you think gave Longbottom that book in the beginning of the year?" Moody asked as his hungry eyes widened and looked around at the both of us. "I expected that the two of you would ask anyone that you could for help, but it wasn't until the night before the task that he finally got around to telling you Emily! I thought that I had lost all hope of getting Harry the gillyweed when I ran across that elf. Luckily enough that I got to him before it was too late."

It made me sick to my stomach on how much had gone into this pan and all of the people that were put into potential danger to make sure that it had gone well. Especially Neville, Dobby, and Cedric because he had used them like puppets to lead us to our downfall.

"The third task tonight should have gone a lot smoother than it did," he said and started to stand up and back us into a corner near by. "I patrolled around the edges and made sure to get rid of all of the other contestants, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Emily, you just had to keep walking towards danger even as I tried to pull you and your brother together. Finally you two met up and I thought that it would go easily from there, but that Diggory boy just had to jump in the way."

At this point, Harry and I had both been backed into the corner of the room and there was no escape. I suddenly began to wonder where my wand was, but I must have left it down on the field when we were brought up here. Harry and I looked at one another in a sort of panic and then back at Moody.

"Imagine how I will be rewarded when the Dark Lord finds out that I stopped the two children that have been in his way ever since they were born," Moody said in a creepily cheery sort of way. "Both the Dark Lord and I have a lot in common. You see, both of us were named after our fathers and we both disappointed them, but that's okay, they were both murdered by us in order to bring rise to the Dark Order. Now it is time that the two of you can go so that we may continue this."

My eyes widened and Harry grabbed onto my hand as we both knew that we were done for. We had no means of protecting ourselves and we were literally backed into a corner where there was no escape. We had escaped death before, but it seemed that there would be no more of that now. Just as he raised his wand and I believed our lives to be over, the door to the office burst open and a blast of red light flooded the room as someone shouted.

"Stupefy!"

Moody, who had been standing in front of us only a moment before, was now blasted to the opposite side of the room, his wand flying into the air. When I turned back to the door, I found Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall all standing and facing Moody. Up to this point, I had never understood why Voldemort had feared Dumbledore so much. Now, the threatening look in Dumbledore's eyes told me why. He looked extremely intimidating now in comparison to his usually cheery self.

They barged into the room and all three of them looked madly around the room to see if anyone else was with us. Then, after only a split second, Professors McGonagall and Snape came rushing towards us. McGonagall quickly grabbed ahold of Harry and brought him off to the side while Snape did the same with me. The four of us stood behind Dumbledore as he advanced towards Moody.

"We need to take them to the hospital wing," McGongall said in a panicked way as she looked from one of us to the other and suddenly grew very pale as she looked at the unconscious body of Mad-Eye Moody.

"No, not now," Dumbledore said. "They both need to understand what has been happening."

We all looked down at Moody at this point before another word was said. After a moment, Dumbledore turned to the two professors.

"Severus - I need you to go and find the strongest Truth potion that you have and to go to the kitchen and find an elf named Winky," he said quickly. "Minerva - go down to Hagrid's hut and you will find a black dog there. Bring him up to my office and tell him that I will be meeting with him momentarily."

McGonagall nodded and walked out of the room. Snape, on the other hand, looked a bit hesitant as he looked from Moody to the two of us.

"I assure you that I can take care of them Severus," he said with a small smile.

Snape raised an eyebrow and then walked quickly out of the office leaving all of us waiting for their return.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! Sorry that I left off at such a weird place, but I didn't want to have all of that scene in this chapter and I felt that it would be a fairly good stopping place (it isn't). I apologize for any mistakes that I made, I didn't really look over the chapter. The next chapter should be up the day after tomorrow - tell me what you think of this one (I know that most of it was just filler, but it needed to be there...it's important to the plot - all rights to Rowling!)<strong>

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	46. Retelling and Understanding

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter - that would be J.K. Rowling.**

**Chapter 46**

Once Professors McGongall and Snape had left the room, Dumbledore walked over towards a large trunk that sat in the corner of the room. It was a very unusual trunk because it had seven different locks on it, something that you don't see on your average trunk. In his hands, Dumbledore carried a series of keys that I assumed would all of the different locks. First, Dumbledore began by unlocking the top lock and then made his way down from there.

The different layers of the trunk all carried a different assortment of things in them including spells books, Sneako-scopes, invisibility cloaks, parchment, and loads of other random objects. However, as soon as I began to wonder why Dumbledore had opened this trunk in the first place, he unlocked the final layer and it revealed a large, underground pit that I would have never expected to be there. Knowing that Moody was an odd person anyway, this didn't surprise me too much.

Slowly, Harry walked over to see what was inside of it. As soon as he saw what it was, he immediately shouted and stepped back quickly in shock. Alarmed, I walked over to see what it was as well. What I saw wasn't anything that I would have expected. It was Mad-Eye Moody. However, this one appeared to be sleeping and starved and was also missing his wooden leg and magical eyes. Only after a second of looking at the unconscious man, I quickly sprang back in surprise just as my brother had done.

"Who is that?" I asked, completely confused as to what was going on.

"Just who you think it is Emily," Dumbledore nodded while looking grave. "It's the real Mad-Eye Moody."

Together, Harry and I managed to help Dumbledore down into the pit to see if the real Moody was actually still alive. Luckily for us, he was still alive, but he wasn't doing so well.

"He's very weak," Dumbledore said while nealing down next to him. "He's been controlled by the Imperius Curse by the looks of it - they must have had to keep him alive…one of you throw down the cloak that the fake one is wearing…"

I walked over to the unconscious body of the imposter that had been struck down moments ago. Who was he really then? Harry helped sit the man up and I took off the cloak that he was wearing and tossed it down to Dumbledore so that the real Moody wouldn't freeze to his death.

Once Moody was covered, Dumbledore got back out of the trunk and walked over to the desk that the fake Moody had been using. On the top of it sat the flask that he had been carrying around all year. Dumbledore opened it up and dumped its contents out onto the desk in front of him. Since I had expected to see some pumpkin juice or something of the sort, it was quite the shock to see a muddy and chunky looking liquid pour out of it.

"Polyjuice Potion…" I murmured.

"Exactly," Dumbledore nodded. "So that explains why Moody was placed inside of his office - the imposter would have to keep him close in order to get the hair that he needed to make the potion."

Suddenly I heard a groaning noise behind me and I quickly spun around to see what was happening. Without any hesitation, Harry quickly jumped in front of me and Dumbledore in front of me, his wand already in position to strike if necessary. However, the man on the floor didn't attack us at all. Instead, his form began to change suddenly into someone that I had seen before. He had a dirty blonde color to his hair and appeared to be very young.

"Barty Crouch?" someone said behind me.

I turned suddenly and found Snape and Winky staring ahead at the man that had just transformed with Professor McGongall trailing close behind. He was right too. I had only seen this man once before and it was in the courtroom where he was begging his mother and father to believe that he was innocent of the crime that he had committed. When I had seen him then, I had almost believed that he was innocent himself given the way that he was acting. Now I knew that his father had been right all along - he was a murdering traitor that didn't belong out of the jail cell. That's when I remembered what he was accused of and rage filled me suddenly. He was involved in the torturing of Neville's parents.

"Master Barty - what is you doing here?" Winky asked in a panic.

Winky quickly jumped around Snape and ran to the fallen form of her former master. As soon as his leg twitched to show that he was alive, Snape quickly moved ahead and grabbed onto my arm and forced Harry and me to take a step backwards. I held onto his arm as Dumbledore moved towards the young Barty Crouch and then turned back towards Snape.

"Did you bring the potion Severus?" he asked.

From out of his pocket, Snape handed over a clear looking potion that I recognized to be Veritaserum from one of the potion books that I was given. It was commonly known as one of the most powerful truth potions in existence. Once Dumbledore had it opened, he kneeled over Crouch and forced his mouth open to pour a few drops over it.

"Ennervate," Dumbledore said.

Suddenly Barty came back into consciousness and quickly scrambled around in search of his wand. Just before Dumbledore had any time to react, several unspoken curses flew through the air from Crouch's wand.

The last thing that I remember before I blacked out was a sharp pain cutting through my chest.

* * *

><p>When I woke up, I half expected to be dead because of the pain that I had felt before I had passed out. Instead, I found Harry sitting next to me and Snape kneeling over me and was putting his wand back into his robes. Both of them appeared very worried and I slowly sat up and looked around the room. Dumbledore was saying something quietly to Professor McGonagall, who had grown very pale at this point.<p>

"Emily - are you okay?" Harry asked, his eyes looking a bit wet.

"What happened?" I asked as I looked down at my torso.

I found there an enormous cut across me and I suddenly grew as pale as a sheet when I saw how much blood had come out of me due to the amount that had already dried underneath me. How long had I been out?

"Harry and Emily - I would like to have a word with you both in my office, if that is okay with you," Dumbledore said. "Emily - are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine," I said as I started to stand up.

As soon as I began to move, I felt the sting of the cut that I had just received. I grimaced in pain and then I suddenly remembered that my ankle was severely swollen and I started to fall, but I was quickly grabbed by Harry and Snape who were standing next to me.

"Thank you," I murmured.

"Harry, if you don't mind, I believe that it would be best if Professor Snape helped to escort your sister up to my office seeing as you are not in the best condition yourself," Dumbledore said.

Snape and Harry both looked at each other and, for once, didn't appear to hate each other too much. Harry nodded in agreement and then began to limp towards the exit himself while Snape helped me walk out of the room with Dumbledore trailing closely behind.

"Once we have finished talking, I ask that you both stop my Madam Pomfrey's office," Dumbledore said as he watched us limping around. "Severus seemed to have healed the mark on you Miss Potter, but I imagine that it should be looked at further…"

I nodded as continued to move forward. Luckily enough, the halls of the castle appeared to be mostly vacant and I went on to assume that most people were probably congregated around the Quidditch field. That's when I suddenly thought back to everything that had happened earlier that day. I hope that they hadn't left Cedric's body lying there for everyone to see. How had Cedric's parents reacted? Were they going to be okay?

"Emily!"

I spun my head around and saw a quick flash of red hair before I felt myself having the life squeezed out of me. For a moment, I stood there in complete shock, but then I wrapped my arms around him as I quickly realized who it was. Fred was standing nearby looking shaken and a few of our other good friends stood by as well, all looking a bit off with the events that had just happened.

Snape, who I half expected to smack George in the head because he had burst out of nowhere and grabbed me, stood silently off to the side without expression. Dumbledore and Harry, who had both been walking ahead of us, now stopped and turned around to see what was going on. When Harry saw them, he expression didn't change too much as I imagined my expression looked at the moment. It was difficult to process everything considering the circumstances and what we had just been put through.

George held me close to him and I leaned into his chest, but there were no more tears to be shed. I believe that I had cried more today than I had ever cried in my entire life. At this point, I was too weak to do anything and I wanted more than anything to just crawl into my bed and sleep for hours. George kissed the side of my head and then whispered in my ear.

"I love you Emily," he whispered into my ear with a choked up tone.

"I love you too George," I whispered back.

"Are you okay?" George asked, clearly still panicking but trying to cover it up.

"I'm fine George," I said quietly as I looked back up at him. "How is everyone else?"

Harry walked over and stood by Ron, Hermione, Fred, and Neville who had all come into the castle.

"What have they done with Cedric…?" Harry asked.

"They took Cedric's body off the grounds," Fred told us. "His family doesn't seem to be doing too well. It's all a shock…"

All of us stood silent for a moment before Dumbledore spoke up again. He had a tone of sympathy, but at the same time he seemed urgent.

"I understand that you are happy to see one another, but I am afraid that I must take these two away for a moment," Dumbledore said. "I assure you that they are now in safe hands."

George, who seemed to understand, finally let me out of his embrace and I returned to Snape who began to walk me towards Dumbledore's office once more. It took a bit longer to make it there because of our injuries, but when we did, I finally realized what Dumbledore had been talking about when he sent the request for a large, black dog to be brought to his office.

Once we stepped up the stairs and walked through the doors, Sirius changed back into his human form and ran to us both. He brought us towards him and hugged us and then took a look at our injuries with a quick glance. He was very pale and wore the same grim expression that everyone seemed to be wearing since we had gotten out of the graveyard.

"Are you two all right?" Sirius asked quickly and we both nodded. "I knew something like this would happen - what happened - what is he doing here?"

For a moment, I didn't understand who he was referring to, but it only took me seconds to figure that out when I noticed him glaring at Snape. Honestly, they were like children. Couldn't they just get along for five minutes - especially considering the circumstances.

"I was assisting Emily into the office," Snape said in a slow, dangerous manner.

"Well, I believe that she is here now," Sirius said bluntly.

It would have been clear to anyone that the statement actually meant that Sirius wanted Snape to get out. He really should consider growing up a bit - Snape didn't do anything to him.

"Indeed," Snape said shortly.

They both glared at each other for a moment as Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk and then looked between the pair of rivals. For a moment, he looked slightly amused, but also a bit irritated at the same time.

"I believe that we all have more important matters to discuss at the moment," Dumbledore said in all seriousness.

"You're right," Sirius said. "I don't believe that Severus really needs to be present for this."

Snape narrowed his eyes and Sirius did the same. However, Snape seemed to take the hint and he began to walk out of the room. That was before I grabbed onto his arm as he was passing the chair I was sitting in and stopped him from walking. While looking at Sirius, I spoke up.

"I want you to stay," I told Snape.

I looked back at Snape and he almost appeared smug as he walked over stood next to my chair without breaking eye contact with Sirius, who was now standing at Harry's side. The tension between the two could nearly be felt in the room as they glared menacingly at one another.

Harry, who was sitting next to me, gave me a raised eyebrow and then returned his attention back to Dumbledore. Although that brief moment between the two had taken my mind off of the matter at hand, I felt myself began to sink back into the state that I was in before because of the look in Dumbledore's eyes. I already knew what he had brought us in here to do, but I didn't want to and I knew that Harry didn't either. He was going to have us retell the story.

"What happened?" Sirius asked.

Luckily enough for us, we were put off another moment as Dumbledore explained what had happened in the office only moments ago with Crouch and Moody. I tried to listen in to some of it because I didn't entirely understand myself what had happened because of my fainting. However, I couldn't bring myself to fully pay attention because I knew what was coming next.

I leaned my head against Harry and I watched as Fawkes flew over to us. Harry pet the phoenix gently as my eyelids began to grow heavy. What I wanted more than anything at the moment was to go back up to my vacant dormitory and just fall asleep for ages, but I knew that it wasn't going to be that easy. Nothing was ever going to be that easy anymore. How were either of us going to sleep peacefully knowing that Voldemort was back and looking all around for us. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he was in some sort of rage right now because of our quick escape from him. Not to mention that he was undoubtedly furious about not being able to kill us again.

I was sprung back into reality when Dumbledore addressed us. He looked completely sympathetic, but there was a look of business-needs-to-get-done in his eyes as well.

"I know that this won't be easy for the two of you," Dumbledore said slowly. "But I am going to need you to tell me what happened after you left the maze today."

"Can't this wait until tomorrow?" Sirius asked. "They need to go to the hospital wing and rest."

Although Snape and Sirius tended to disagree on things, I caught a small nod of agreement coming from Snape. I nearly felt relieved when Sirius stood up for us, but I knew that there wasn't any way that Dumbledore would let us do this. If he thought he could hear this later, he would have let us rest before even suggesting that we go to his office.

"As much as I would love to do just that, I am afraid that I will need to know this now," Dumbledore said. "I imagine that it won't be easy to retell, but I need to know this information now that it is fresh in your minds. Now…I ask you to please tell us what happened…"

He was very calm about the manner and I knew that he really meant what he said. If we were to go to sleep, there was a small chance that we could forget some of the events that took place. We both sighed and sat up and began to retell the story of what happened.

I started off and told them everything that I knew up to the point where I fell unconscious. I told them every ingredient placed into the cauldron and the creature that I now knew to be Voldemort in his weakened and pathetic form.

"…after he had cut his hand off and placed it in the cauldron, he came over to us," I told them without looking them in their eyes. "He cut us both in the arms and took our blood -"

Suddenly Dumbledore rose from his chair while Sirius and Snape looked absolutely horrified with the whole idea.

"He did what?" Sirius exclaimed.

"He mentioned something about the blood of the enemy…" I murmured.

"He had to use our blood to make him stronger - he couldn't use someone else's," Harry spoke up. "He mentioned that he would have the protection that our mother left us would be inside of him as well if he used our blood. He was right…he was able to touch both of us without hurting himself like before…"

Everyone stared at us in a horrified silence. I wouldn't look any of them in the eye because I wasn't sure how they were going to take all of this and it scared me in a way. Once Dumbledore sat back down in his chair, he waved his hands as if to tell me to continue.

I finished up my part of the story where I mentioned that I had fallen unconscious and then Harry picked up where I left off. There wasn't a word said about anything until Harry finally got to the part where our wands connected.

"How is that possible?" Snape asked.

"Priori Incantatem," Dumbledore said in a hushed tone.

Dumbledore seemed to have some sort of sudden realization as he looked from one of us to the other. However, both Harry and I were still a bit confused.

"What is that?" I croaked.

"The Reverse Spell effect…" Sirius murmured. "But…how?"

"Harry's and Emily's wands both share the same core as Voldemort's wand," Dumbledore explained. "They each have a feather from the tail of a phoenix - Fawkes to be exact -"

"Fawkes?" I asked.

Dumbledore nodded as Sirius spoke up again.

"What happens when the cores meet?" he asked.

"They will not work properly against one another," Dumbledore told us. "One of the wands usually forces the other to show the precious spells that it had performed…did you all see Cedric?"

"Yes," I said quietly and Snape put his hand on my shoulder. "He seemed…almost like a ghost…he told us that he wanted us to bring his body back…and to tell his parents that he loves them…"

Dumbledore nodded sympathetically and then got a sudden look of curiosity on his face.

"He wasn't the only person that you saw, was he?" he asked.

"There was an old man," Harry choked out. "And Bertha Jorkins…and…"

"…our parents…" I finished for him.

Harry looked down at the floor and refused to meet anyone's eyes. Without hesitation, I held onto Harry's hand tightly. He wasn't in this alone and I didn't want to make him feel like he was.

Everyone in the room remained silent for a moment, drinking in everything that they had just heard. Finally, I heard the words that I had been waiting for since the moment that I walked back into the castle.

"I believe that it is time for you two to see Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore said. "Sirius - Severus - would you two mind helping these two into the hospital wing."

He smiled sympathetically at the two of us as we stood ourselves up and began to limp back out of the door to Dumbledore's office and out to face the rest of the world.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you liked it! I know that this had a lot of filler in it like the last one, but I am trying to stick with the plot at the moment. The next chapter should contain a lot of stuff that didn't happen in the book. Tell me what you think and tell me if you have any ideas!<strong>

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	47. Fudge's Disbelief

**Disclaimer: No, I'm not J. K. Rowling - I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter 47**

When we stepped into the hospital wing, we were greeted by all of the people that were waiting for us - George, Fredz, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Bill. As soon as we crossed into the room, I no longer needed Snape's assistance with walking because George had rushed over to me again to help. However, Snape seemed to be keeping close to me, probably just his usual paranoid self.

"Harry - Emily!" Mrs. Weasley shouted and walked quickly over to us.

Before she could actually reach us, Dumbledore stood in between us all and held up his hand. Mrs. Weasley stopped in her tracks and it was then that I noticed just how pale she was - how everyone was.

"I ask that you all let these two rest," Dumbledore said calmly. "They have both gone through a terrible ordeal tonight and they need some peace and quiet.

Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and looked around at the crowd of people that now stood in her hospital wing. She looked around frantically, probably worried that she was going to have to heal all of us at once or something. That or she just didn't like her hospital crowded.

"Headmaster - why is there a dog here?" she asked while looking down at Sirius.

"I assure you that he if very well trained," Dumbledore nodded. "Now, I must go speak with Fudge. I ask that you all do not leave here until I have spoken to the school."

He nodded at us with a small smile and then began to walk towards the door. He gave a look to Snape as if to tell him to leave as well and he got the hint and started to walk out.

"Sleep well," he said to me as he walked towards the door.

I nodded wordlessly and I hoped that I would be able to sleep well. At this point, I was completely exhausted and just wanted to sleep right now. However, I also feared that if I did go to sleep that I would have nightmares about what had happened in the graveyard.

Once they had left, Madam Pomfrey had us crawl into the beds that were set out and then walked over to her cabinet where she had her potions. While I settled down, several people surrounded the beds that we laid in. George held my hand as Madam Pomfrey handed me a potion.

"This is for a dreamless sleep," she said as she held it up to my mouth.

I took two large mouthfuls and instantly felt tired. I looked over at Harry and he gave me a small smile and then took his potion wordlessly. Everything became fuzzy and I looked over at George and Fred who were both looking down at me with worry. It hurt to see them like this - they were usually so cheerful…

On my right side, I saw Neville, Ron, and Hermione - who were also on Harry left side - standing and looking at the both of us with the utmost concern on their faces. Just as I wished that I wouldn't have to see all my friends so distraught, I looked into George's eyes and faded away into my long awaited sleep.

* * *

><p>When I woke up, I heard loud voices shouting at one another and I could still feel George's hand holding onto mine. I didn't open my eyes immediately, but I recognized the voices Professor McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Cornelius Fudge talking urgently to one another. Somehow, even when I didn't tie together what they were saying, I knew that the conversation wasn't going too well judging by the tones of their voices. After a moment of realizing that I couldn't just fall back to sleep, I tried to listen into what they were saying while still pretending to be sleeping.<p>

"You are prepared to take their word on this Dumbledore?" Fudge scoffed. "They are two fourteen year olds!"

"I believe them both - Harry and Emily have never lied to me before," Dumbledore said proudly. "Crouch also confessed moments ago and they both explain everything and make perfect sense - Lord Voldemort has returned Cornelius, you must understand this."

I opened my eyes and looked around at the scene. Luckily enough, no one seemed to notice that I was awake aside from Harry who glanced over in my direction for a moment. Not too far away from our beds, Dumbledore and Fudge were standing and they both seemed to be very serious at the moment. Fudge was looking at Dumbledore as if he were some kind of lunatic while Snape and McGonagall stood off to the side looking furious.

"That is insane Dumbledore," Fudge said. "How can you believe the word of some lunatic and two children who clearly don't have their heads on…well, you know what I mean…"

"I don't," I said suddenly.

Nearly everyone in the room jumped when they heard my voice. Apparently they didn't realize that I was awake. Everyone then looked over at Harry and recognized that he was awake as well.

"Are you implying that we are not in our right minds Minister?" I asked coolly as I sat up in my bed.

"Well…I have heard about the instances recently about the two of you seeing things, having headaches, possibly hallucinations…" he said.

"From who - Rita Skeeter?" I scoffed. "I thought that you were smarter than that Minister."

"Excuse me - I will not be talked to like a child," Fudge said while going red in the face. "Now - I will not believe that the greatest Dark wizard of all time has returned simply because these two have been having headaches."

"We saw him come back!" Harry said suddenly. "We saw the Death Eaters - I can give you their names!"

"I am not interested in hearing names," Fudge said. "I've been hearing stories from these two since the beginning of the school year and I'm not interested in hearing any more - how can anyone trust what comes out of their mouths?"

"What about Cedric?" I said. "How do expect that he died then? Are you suggesting that it was us?"

"No - it was an accident of the Tournament - these things have happened before!" Fudge declared.

"You are blinded by fear Cornelius," Dumbledore said. "You must understand that Voldemort has returned! He is going to come after all of us just like last time and you must be prepared. You need to get these dementors out of the castle and send someone to get on the good side of the giants - he is going to use them just like he did before and you have to make sure that you get to them first."

"I am the Minister!" Fudge said. "I will not take orders - I will not go to such measures because you believe in two children who clearly don't know what kind of mess they are trying to start. Voldemort could not have returned…it's impossible!"

Suddenly, Snape stepped towards Fudge and pulled up the sleeve to reveal his forearm. When the Mark was shown on his arm, the Minister quickly jumped back in disgust.

"The Dark Lord has returned - this is evidence of it," Snape said irritably. "It's been getting darker all year and he summoned us earlier when they were all in the graveyard."

"I've had enough of this!" Fudge declared. "Here are your winnings Potters - I must return to the Ministry."

He threw the bag of money towards us and quickly walked out of the door without another word. He was acting more like a child than anyone that I had ever seen. How could he not believe us? Dumbledore was right - he had to be blinded by his fear.

The room was silent for a moment after he left until Dumbledore sent Madam Pomfrey out of the room to talk to Winky who was apparently in some sort of distress. After she left, I understood just why he wanted her to leave.

"Sirius - I believe that it is time that you show yourself to these people," Dumbledore announced to the Weasleys.

Sirius, who was previously in his dog form, suddenly changed his form at once and showed who he was to the people around him. Mrs. Weasley shrieked and suddenly backed away from him in horror. Bill's jaw dropped and Fred's eyes widened. Snape rolled his eyes in annoyance of seeing his rival once again. Even George, who had already known about Sirius, looked a bit surprised to find out that he was actually in the room with us. I guess that I had forgot to mention the part about him being an Animagus.

"Sirius Black!" Mrs. Weasley yelled.

"Calm down Mrs. Weasley - he's supposed to be here," I said. "It's all right."

Sirius smiled innocently at the Weasley's mother as if in hopes that she wouldn't pull out her wand and kill him on the spot. If it were me, it wouldn't be her that I would be worrying about. Given the look that Snape was giving Sirius, I think I would be more afraid of him at the moment.

"I must assure you all that he has my full trust and he has done nothing to not have yours as well," Dumbledore said while looking at the Weasleys.

Snape let out a small snort and Sirius threw him a look. It was amazing how a rivalry can last this long. You think that they both would have grown up by now.

"Now that this has been settled," Dumbledore said while turning to Snape. "I believe that we have discussed what must be done Severus - if you are prepared of course."

"I am…" Snape said.

"Good luck," Dumbledore said.

Snape nodded and then looked around the room for a moment and began to walk out of the door. I wish that he would have stayed for a moment longer, I really wanted to talk to him more than anything right now. He always knew how to make me feel better or how to take my mind off of things. I just wish that Sirius could understand that and be better towards him for my sake at least.

"I must be going downstairs now," Dumbledore said. "I need to speak with the Diggorys - Harry and Emily, you both need to rest now."

He smiled weakly at us both and then turned towards the door to leave us to rest. The Weasleys and the rest of our friends crowded around us and spoke to both Harry and me separately. Fred, George, and Neville came over to talk with me while the rest of the group spoke to Harry.

"Doing any better?" Fred asked.

"Not really…" I muttered. "This is all…such a mess…"

"It is…I'm sure we'll make it through it though," Fred said with a small smile.

"It isn't that easy…" I said weakly. "Voldemort's back and…no one believes us…"

"We believe you Emily," Neville said. "Fudge just doesn't want to believe it, that's all. He'll come around soon enough."

"He's just scared," George said. "All the signs were there, he just thinks that if he avoids the problem all together that it will just vanish."

I nodded and looked down at my hands and held onto George's again. Even though they all say that Fudge will have to believe it sooner or later, it didn't help at all right now. Voldemort was back and there was no stopping him if the Minister of Magic wouldn't warn the public simply because he was too afraid to see what we all did. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that Voldemort was going to be a lot worse than he was last time because of all of the anger that he built up because of his failure with us. He was going to have more people killed just like Cedric and just like with him, I'm not going to be able to stop him.

"You should try to sleep more," George said. "You're tired…"

"I know…" I murmured. "I just have too many things on my mind…"

I didn't think it was possible at this point, but I started to tear up once again as everything came back to me at once. Although I normally don't cry a lot, today was an exception because I was crying more today than I ever thought that I could. It was getting ridiculous.

"It's okay Emily," George said.

He sat down next to me on the bed and pulled me closer to him. I buried my face into his chest so that no one could see the tears flowing down my face.

"No it's not," I cried. "Nothing is okay. Voldemort's back and Cedric is dead and it's all my fault."

"Emily, it isn't your fault that he died," George said. "There wasn't anything that you could do."

"Yes there was - I was right there George, I could have done something," I cried. "But I wasn't fast enough to save him. I should have never left him there - he could have lived if I wouldn't have left him there."

"Stop blaming yourself," George said. "You didn't know what was going to happen."

"But I'm the one that came up with the idea for all of us to take the cup," I sobbed. "H-he could have l-lived if it wasn't for t-that."

"Emily, you didn't know what was going to happen," George said soothingly. "You didn't know where that cup was going to take you, so please don't blame yourself for this. It isn't your fault."

I couldn't bring myself to speak anymore and just cried into George's chest for a few more moments. When I finally stopped, I leaned back and wiped my face clear of my tears. George wiped off one more tear from my eyes and then kissed me on my forehead.

"You need to sleep," he said quietly.

"I know…" I mumbled. "Can you all stay with me until I fall asleep…?"

"Of course we will," George said.

Fred and Neville nodded and I looked at both of them and noticed that I wasn't the only one of us that was crying. Although they were all trying to hide it, all of them had puffy red eyes and were wiping their faces off in attempt to keep anyone from noticing. I saw one tear go down Neville's face and he quickly turned around to grab the sleeping potion while wiping it away.

"Here," Neville said in a choked voice as he handed me the potion.

I took the potion in my hand and then put my arms around him to hug him. He held onto me tightly for a moment before releasing me again. He coughed and I could tell that he was covering up a cry and I turned to Fred and gave him a hug as well.

"Get to sleep Potter," Fred smiled weakly.

"Okay Weasley," I said and wiped away the last tear.

I drank the potion in one gulp and the room became fuzzy once more. I felt George's hand go around mine as I leaned back and fell asleep at once.

I was back in the graveyard, but this time my brother wasn't there with me. The only person that I saw was the body of Cedric Diggory that lay in front of Tom Riddle's gravestone. Not understanding what was going on, I walked closer towards him and noticed that he wasn't breathing. I began to panic and looked around the area for some help.

* * *

><p>"Look what you've done Emily," a voice said behind me.<p>

I spun around and saw the ghost of Cedric staring at me in disappointment. He looked just like I remembered him, except the usual kind look in his eyes was missing.

"W-what do you mean?" I stammered.

"I thought you were going to protect me Emily," Cedric said while looking down at his broken body. "But all you did was run and save yourself. How could you be so selfish?"

"Cedric - I tried," I said. "I didn't want you to die!"

"You just left me there," Cedric said as he began to circle around me. "I would have never done that to you."

"Please, I didn't mean to," I begged.

"All you cared about was saving your own skin," Cedric said. "After everything that I did to help you, you just let him kill me."

Suddenly the scene changed and I was standing in front of a casket. Inside of it, I saw Cedric lying there looking like he was asleep. Everyone around me was crying as they passed by the casket.

"He was such a good man - why did he have to die so young?" Neville asked.

"It's all _her_ fault," Mr. Diggory sneered in my direction. "If she wouldn't have been so selfish, my son could still be alive."

Everyone in the room looked at me in disgust and a few people burst into tears. Then, everyone began to move towards me and I backed up into a wall nearby as the people began to surround me.

"It's all your fault," Mrs. Diggory said.

"Please, I tried to help him," I said. "I wanted to help him."

"She's pathetic," Draco scoffed. "It's all her fault that he's dead and she refuses to take the blame."

"It doesn't matter," Snape said. "We all know what really happened Emily."

"Severus, please," I cried. "I'm so sorry..."

"You killed him," everyone began to chant.

Everyone moved in closer and chanted the same thing. From a distance, I heard several people burst into tears as the people began to chant the same thing over and over again until I was backed into a corner. I started to cry as the kept going and I sunk down to the ground and they kept moving closer to me.

"Emily!" someone shouted. "Emily - wake up!"

Suddenly my eyes flew open and I looked around frantically. It took my eyes a minute to adjust to the darkness, but when they did, I saw my brother standing above me with a terrified expression plastered on his face. We were still in the hospital wing.

"I'm sorry," I said through a choked sob.

"It was just a dream Emily," Harry said as he pulled me into an embrace.

"But it felt so real," I cried.

"It's okay," he said. "It's gone now..."

We sat there for a minute before he let go of me and walked over to the side table where more of the potion sat. I guess that it had worn off through the night when my nightmare had happened. When he handed it to me, I took a quick gulp of it and he did the same.

Instead of going back to his bed, he crawled into mine so that he could stay with me throughout the night. Considering our size, the bed was large enough to fit us both comfortably enough so that we could both fall back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading - I hope that you all liked it! I was going to try to make this the last chapter, but I decided that I wanted to add some more things into it later. In other words, the next chapter will be the last one for this book and then it'll be <strong>_**The Potter Twins and the Order of the Pheonix**_**! I hope that you all will read that one too! By the way, I'm probably going to take a small break in between writing this one and the next one so I can think of some more ideas. At most, it'll probably last a week. For any news regarding that, you could check my Twitter page where I'll be posting updates on when I'm writing again. Tell me what you think!**

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	48. Will It Ever Be the Same?

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own all the Harry Potter books and movies, but I guess that doesn't count…**

**Chapter 48**

As I fully expected, both Harry and I received so many looks from everyone from the moment that we stepped out of the hospital wing. I got word from Fred and George that we had been the talk of the school ever since the third task had ended. Dumbledore had spoken to the school after it had happened, but only in minor detail. He didn't mention the return of Voldemort, probably an order from the Ministry.

The first thing that we both did before we went back to our usual schedule was go around to the Diggorys so that we could talk to them about what had happened. Mostly, we just gave them our condolences about Cedric's death. They didn't seem to be angry with either of us and told us not to blame ourselves for what had happened the day before.

It was terrible being the outcast of the school once again, so for the majority of the time, I tried to keep myself out of sight because I would rather not hear the things that people were saying about Harry or me. I would have loved to believed that everyone's opinions wouldn't bother me, but I wasn't willing to take the chance considering how badly I was taking everything to begin with. Besides, I guess this wasn't the first time that we had been talked about around the school and I could almost guarantee that it wasn't going to be the last.

Classes were duller than usual ever since the ending of the Tournament. Everyone in class sort of just hung around without anything to do and I rarely if ever paid any attention. Due to our lack of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, funny how that happens every year, we were allowed a free period where that class usually was. Not that I really was in the mood for free time as it gave me entirely too much time to think for my own good. Not that I had even been paying attention in class anyway, but I didn't like it. For the most part, Harry and I stuck around either each other or one of our other friends that didn't think that we were the biggest pair of liars the year had to offer.

The day before our last day at the castle, I found myself walking to potions class with Neville - Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been running slightly late after lunch and told us to go on ahead. While we were on our way to class, there were a pair of Slytherin girls that I recognized from our potions class walking the same way and they were both whispering to one another and throwing looks my way.

"Don't pay attention to them," Neville muttered.

"I'm not…" I lied.

When we got into the classroom, it didn't make it any better. Luckily, no one seemed to want to actually say anything to our faces, so we didn't actually have to hear what they were saying. I could only imagine the terrible things that people were coming up with by the looks that they were giving us. Most of them appeared confused because they weren't even sure what had happened. No doubt that they were coming up with stories of their own.

Snape didn't really have much to say to me, but he seemed to be showing his sympathy for what had happened by not taking any points from Gryffindor for the rest of the term, which is really something of an accomplishment for us considering the amount of mistakes that Neville was making when I became sidetracked during class.

"Longbottom, keep it up and I'll have to take points," Snape sighed as another potion boiled over in class.

"I'm sorry, I'm not doing it on purpose," Neville said honestly.

When the time came around for our last Defense Against the Dark Arts free class, I spent my day with George and Hermione rather than go and visit Hagrid like Harry and Ron decided to do. It wasn't that I didn't want to see Hagrid, I just felt that we would get less looks if Harry and I were away from each other for a little while. Considering that it was the end of the term, I figured that most people wouldn't still be in the library, so we took that opportunity to go in there for a while.

"I'm just shocked that Malfoy hasn't said anything to you yet," Hermione said as another group of Slytherins passed by us throwing looks at me.

"He probably knows that she could potentially hurt him," George said. "Not to mention that I would knock him upside the head if he even considered it."

"Yeah, well, it's only a matter of time before everyone starts to mock us," I said while putting my head down on the table. "This is just the warm up…imagine what it'll be like next year…"

No one spoke for a minute, probably knowing what I was saying was true. This wasn't going to just be one of those things that vanishes overnight and I could only imagine what was going to be said about us during the next school year. Then, of course, there are the summer months when I'm not going to get the paper to know what was going on…wonderful…

"I wonder who the next Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is going to be…" Hermione said, trying to change the subject.

"Probably another psycho…" George muttered. "We haven't had a normal one in ages…"

"Maybe it'll be a vampire…" I said.

"They should just put a ghost in the position and be done with it," George said. "There's no way that they could end up dying again."

"Then we'd just have another Professor Binns," I grimaced. "I don't think I could handle that amount of boredom."

"Maybe they'll finally let Snape be the teacher," Hermione suggested.

"He only wishes," George said. "He's been trying to get that spot forever, why change it now?"

When the last day of the year came around again, I was sad to have to pack my bags again. Although I wouldn't miss some of the things that happened this year, it wasn't bad enough that I would want to go back and live with the Dursleys again.

Harry and I walked down to the Great Hall together and we ignored the looks that we got as we took our regular seats. Instead of the usual decorations that we had at the end of the year, everything had become black. There wasn't any question of why they were there, it had to be out of respect for Cedric.

It was strange to see the real Mad-Eye Moody sitting at the staff table because of what had happened with him, but I didn't even want to know what was going through his mind. Everyone knew that he had been paranoid about everything before, but now he seemed to jump at just the smallest of noises. That was going to take a while to recover from…

When I looked up there a little while longer, I caught the eye of Snape who was looking down at both Harry and me. That's when I remembered what had been said the other day and I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought about it before. What had Dumbledore asked of him the other day when we were in the hospital wing? He had asked if he was prepared to do something that he was asked, but what could it have been? There was literally no hint that was given, so it could be anything.

Finally, at the end of the feast, Dumbledore stood up to give his usual end-of-the-year speech. Without him even saying anything, I already knew that this wasn't going to be his most pleasant speech.

"Another year has ended," Dumbledore said. "However, I am saddened to say that we end the year with one less than we started it with. I ask you all to please, raise your glasses to Cedric Diggory."

Everyone did as he said and several murmurs broke out amongst the crowd.

"Cedric was good and loyal friend to us all," he continued. "And his death has no doubt effected you all. Because of this, I believe that you all have the right to know exactly how he was killed."

Silence filled the room, all of them not sure what was going to be said. Most of them, as I have already guessed, had already made up their minds of what they believed the truth was.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes that I do not tell you this, but I believe that you all have the right to know," Dumbledore said slowly. "Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

A panicked murmur filled the entire crowd as everyone began to talk to their neighbors suddenly. No one had even fathomed that this could have happened.

"It is possible that your parents will be angry that I have told you," Dumbledore said. "But Lord Voldemort has returned and I believe that you all have the right to know the truth and any lie about his death, in my opinion, is an insult to his memory."

Everyone was still in shock, but this time the room was silent, hanging on to every word that Dumbledore was saying.

"I believe that it is important that we all honor two other people in here," Dumbledore said. "At a great personal risk for them both, they managed to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. For the bravery that very few witches and wizards have had to face, I ask you all to honor Harry and Emily Potter."

Everyone's eyes turned on us and I looked to the ground as everyone did. It was very uncomfortable for us both to be looked at by three different schools of students and staff alike all at once.

"Remember Cedric Diggory," Dumbledore continued. "Remember him when you are faced with the decision to choose between what is right and what is easy. Remember what happened to a kind, brave boy like Cedric Diggory that strayed into the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

Everyone raised their glasses in respect and, not long after, the speech was over and we were free to go.

…

Our trunks were all packed and everyone stood in the Entrance Hall with their luggage as we watched the other schools leave our castle. It was then that I noticed just how close the other schools had gotten with some of the students of Hogwarts. I guess that I hadn't noticed it as much because of how busy we had gotten with the Tournament.

"Emily!" someone called over to me.

I turned around and found Vector Krum standing there. It felt like it had been centuries since I had even seen or heard anything from him.

He walked over toward me and gave me a hug, receiving a look of annoyance from George. I wonder if they would ever get along…probably not.

"I know we haven't spoken in a while, but I wished to tell you how lovely it was meeting with you," Vector said. "Even if things didn't work out as I wished."

"It was great meeting you too," I said honestly. "Maybe we'll see each other some time in the future."

"Maybe," Vector said. "I'm sorry to hear about what happened during the Tournament. Diggory seemed like a good person, he will be missed."

I nodded as his brother joined our group and started talking with Hermione. The only thing that I could really pay attention to was the scowl that Ron made when he came over. He was just as bad as George with Vector. It's funny how Hermione always made comment that George needed to make a move in the beginning of the year when Ron still had yet to say anything to Hermione. It was obvious to anyone that he liked her more than just a friend.

Just as Vector and Viktor began to leave, Ron suddenly said something that I could hardly believe.

"Can I have your autograph?" he asked suddenly.

Everyone burst into laughter as he pulled out a piece of parchment and signed it for him. It was amazing how much Ron could hate and idolize someone at the same time.

Once everyone had left, the students of Hogwarts went to retrieve their bags and head out towards the train for Kings Cross station. Just as I was walking out of the castle doors, I found Snape standing at the door. We looked at each other for a moment and then he gave me a small smile. He wasn't much of an emotional person, so a smile from him meant the world to me. I was just about to keep walking when I suddenly set my stuff down and walked back to him.

I threw my arms around him and hugged him for the last time this school year. He seemed to be getting slightly more used to these sudden acts of kindness that he didn't hesitate much when he hugged me back.

"Have a good summer Professor," I said. "And don't forget to write."

"I won't," he said with a small nod. "Now go before you miss your train."

"Yeah, I'd really hate to miss seeing the Dursleys," I muttered.

He rolled his eyes as I walked back towards my brother and friends and before I knew it we were boarded the train back to the train station. We found a compartment in the back of the train where Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, George, and I could all fit into (Fred decided to sit with Lee Jordan after seeing how crowded our compartment was). You would think that it would be uncomfortable, but it wasn't all that bad.

On our way there, I noticed that Hermione had her head buried inside of the Daily Prophet. After only a few minutes of searching, she threw it off to the side without the slightest anger.

"Nothing?" I asked.

"Nothing at all," she smiled.

"Not even from Rita Skeeter?" Harry asked.

"I don't think that we're going to be hearing for her for a while," Hermione said with an evil smile.

We all looked around at each other, trying to mentally figure out what Hermione was trying to say. We were all clueless.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

Without saying a word, Hermione pulled out a class jar from her bag that sat in a tray above us. Inside of it was a large, fat beetle.

"And you have a beetle because…?" George asked.

"This isn't just any beetle," Hermione said. "Take a closer look."

I leaned in towards the jar and noticed that it appeared to be wearing small glasses around its eyes. That's odd…

"Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus," Hermione said with a smile. "That's how she's been getting all of her information this year."

For the remainder of the trip, we talked about how exactly she had figured out that Rita Skeeter was a beetle along with some other random things. Before long, much to my disappointment, the train came to a stop and we were sitting at Kings Cross Station.

Everyone started walking out of the train when a thought crossed my mind and I told George to wait a moment while I talked to Harry. Once everyone had moved ahead, I pulled Harry off to the side and spoke to him.

"I have an idea," I said.

"About?" he asked.

"Well, you said that you didn't want the gold that we won, right?" I asked.

"No, I really don't," he said simply.

"Well, I didn't want it either and I had an idea of what we could do with it," I said.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked curiously.

"I was thinking that we should make it an investment," I said.

Harry didn't seem to be following me judging by the confusion that was filling his face.

"Fred and George have been talking about making a joke shop for years," I said. "And they said that the only thing that's holding them back is that they don't have the money to do it. I was thinking that we could let them have it instead."

"That's brilliant," Harry smiled. "I could really use a laugh right now - let's do it."

Without even hesitation, Harry pulled the winnings out of his bag and walked out of the compartment to where Fred and George were waiting for us. They were both coincidentally talking about some more products that they needed to make when Harry held out the bag of money.

"What is this?" Fred asked as it fell into his brother's hands.

"It's our winnings," I said with a smile.

"We want you to have it," Harry said.

"You're joking," George said and handed it back to Harry.

"I knew that you were mental for dating my brother, but I didn't realize that it was to this extent," Fred said.

George threw him a look as Harry handed it over to Fred.

"We're serious," Harry said. "Both of us agreed that we didn't want it and we would really love to see the money go towards that joke shop that you two have been talking about."

Both of them were speechless.

"Just don't tell your mother that it was from us," Harry added quickly. "I'd rather not have her kill me to be honest."

They still didn't know what to say, so we both just walked through them and out of the train. It wasn't long before they caught up to us.

"Thank you so much," Fred said. "You have no idea-"

"Just make it worthwhile," Harry smiled at him. "We could really go for a bit of fun."

Both of them hugged us tightly and wouldn't let go for a minute. I laughed as I felt them kissing all over my face in gratitude.

"All right, all right," Harry said, trying to get out of their embrace. "Have a good summer!"

He walked off and said goodbye to a few more people as I kissed George and gave Fred a hug goodbye.

"Make sure to write," George told me as he kissed me again.

"I will," I smiled. "Tell me how things are going on with the shop, I'd like to know."

"I love you," George smiled.

"I love you too," I said.

"I LOVE YOU ALL!" Fred said dramatically and threw his arms around us both.

I laughed and then began looking for my brother and the Dursleys. On my way over to them, I said goodbye to the rest of the Weasleys, Hermione, Neville, and some other friends that I passed by before I finally reached them.

As Harry and I stepped into the Dursley's car, we both looked at each other knowing that, even though nothing was going to be the same, there was no sense in worrying about anything just yet. No matter how much worrying we did, whatever fate was coming to us would reach us in the end.

…

**Thank you soooooooooo much for reading! I really hope that you liked this chapter and my version of the Goblet of Fire! Up next is _The Potter Twins and the Order of the Phoenix_! For further information on that, read the following!**

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